Developmental Education Committee

Meeting Minutes: November 17, 2003

Present: John Arola, Barb Cox, Ann DeArmond, Hanna Erpestad, Kathy Grosh, Joni Mathison, Judy Nordeen, Deanne Roquet, Kristin Rust, Jeri Schwerin, Paula Young

1. ESL Task Force - Paula reported that the next meeting of the ESL task force is Monday, November 24. The task force is looking for representation from the Developmental Education committee. Ann will join the task force this semester.
2. Learning Communities - Ann asked for suggestions about learning communities for the fall. It was decided that pre-algebra would be added to the first level developmental community. Kathy said she would be interested in teaching the section(s) involved in the cohort(s). The committee recommended limiting the number of communities and also to keep the addition of math to the first level until an evaluation of the success rate of these cohorts could be determined. It was suggested that a student satisfaction survey be given to spring semester's group for feedback and as a way to see if they would be interested in being part of a community at the second level of developmental.
3. Online Developmental - Judy reported that she has found only one other MnSCU college offering developmental on-line. Hanna pointed out that since LSC is at the forefront of this delivery method that we may not want to do a comparison with the rest of the state. As an on-line instructor and someone who has taught developmental writing, Hanna did express concern about the difficulty of offering developmental writing classes on-line. It was noted that students will need to fill out a special request form to take developmental courses online. This possibly, but not necessarily, will help in registering students best suited for this form of delivery.
4. Institutional Drop - John and Judy reported that several campuses throughout the state and locally drop students if they do not attend the first day of classes. The committee still thinks it would like to pursue this option for developmental courses. John and Judy agreed to draft a plan for Fall semester and will submit it to the policy committee.
5. Research - John has done some research to see if students are taking the recommended courses. He investigated several Comp I classes and found a very small percentage of students who were not following mandatory placement. Of those, some may be transfer students or adult special, who do not have an assessment test score in ISRS. He will continue his research after the semester is over to check the success rate of these students. - Ann shared a grid from the Office of Institutional Research that needs to be developed with LSC courses identified. After looking at the proposed research project from last year, Ann suggested she work with Sue Stenerson to plug in the appropriate courses from our campus.
6. Learning Center - As reorganization of the LC was a large part of last springs committee work, Paula was asked to report on the centers progress and activities. Using the ideas drafted by Developmental Ed. Instructors last May, Paula addressed the areas outlined in the plan. Some of the suggestions in the plan have not been implemented as yet, either due to finances or time frame. Paula did report that the Center has been awarded new computers, and she is working with several faculty to increase student activity in the Center. She encourages developmental faculty to hold an office hour in the LC. Kathy G. reported that she finds by doing this she is helping a large number of math students that would not seek her out in her office. Paula is currently working to improve training of tutors. Amy Jo Swing and Karen Busch have agreed to develop tutor materials for writing tutors. Also, Ann and Paula have met with Jeri Ann to discuss offering the Credit-based Peer Tutor Class in the Fall.
7. Developmental Instructors - It was suggested that a meeting be held on a duty day at the end of spring semester, like last year, involving all developmental instructors to discuss new initiatives and other issues and concerns. Development of materials to be shared with adjunct faculty and participation in the hiring of and mentoring of new faculty is seen as an important step in assuring consistent standards and practices.

The next meeting of the Developmental Education Committee will be held Monday, December 15 at noon in the Academic Conference Room.

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