Achieving The Dream
Course Completion: Gateway Courses
Subgroup
2/20/2008
Surprises
OCCC is currently using many of the
initiatives that other AtD colleges are
focusing on: learning communities, early
warning programs, and success/freshman
experience/orientation courses.
All three of these programs should be
tracked and improved with faculty
development opportunities.
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Overall Recommendations
Whatever is done to improve student
success and retention/persistence in
gateway courses should include faculty
development opportunities for full time and
adjunct faculty.
The faculty (full time and adjunct) should
have input into the selection and
development of any new program or
strategy.
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Potential Strategies/Barriers
 1. Improve student success and retention by
initiating a program of student engagement through
teaching strategies across the gateway courses.

Year One-FY09: Set up a faculty task force to
research and choose an appropriate teaching strategy
such as, but not limited to, collaborative learning, critical
thinking, and responsible/critical reading.

Year Two-FY10: Provide faculty (full time and
adjunct) professional development opportunities focused
on the chosen teaching strategy. These should be paid
one-day or two-day workshops with outside experts.
Start a pilot program with faculty (full time and adjunct)
volunteers (approximately 20-25) from the Success
course and targeted gateway courses (ENGL-1113,
MATH-1513, POLSC 1113, HIST 1483, PSY 1113).
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Barriers to Strategy One
A. Expense of adequate on-going paid
professional development opportunities by
outside experts (at least for the pilot
group) for all faculty (adjunct and full time)
B. Getting faculty input and buy-in for the
use of an across-thecourses/departments/divisions teaching
strategy
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Potential Strategy/Barriers
 2. Improve student success and retention by
initiating a program of student engagement through
creative and/or structured time in and use of the
learning labs. This initiative would engage students
more directly with instructors, lab staff and
resources, technology, and each other as well as
encouraging additional engagement with the course
content.

Year One-FY09: Focus on MATH 1513 College
Algebra. Investigate and research in the fall and pilot in
the spring a small number of MATH 1513 sections with a
required one extra hour of lab time. The course would
not increase in credit hours, but an assigned additional
lab hour would be required.
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Potential Strategy Two
Year Two-FY10: Continue the MATH 1513 pilot.
Based on the results of that pilot, expand to
additional MATH 1513 sections if appropriate.
Begin discussions of creative and/or structured
use of the learning labs in an additional Gateway
course (PSY 1113, HIST 1483, ENGL 1113, or
POLSC 1113) perhaps to pilot in FY11. The
expansion would not necessarily mean an
additional lab hour; it could be the utilization of
other creative ways to use our learning labs and
increase student engagement with instructional
materials.
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Barriers to Strategy Two
Scheduling issues related to adding an
extra lab hour to the MATH 1513 pilot
sections
Convincing students of the benefits of the
extra time-on-task
Professional development opportunities
Budget requirements
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Other Suggestions Discussed
Engaging faculty more in the early warning
system; increasing the capacity of this
program to include more staff and tracking
More research needed on why students
drop out or withdraw
Advisement issues—Assign a specific
professional advisor to each division or
give specific faculty members reassigned
time to focus on the division’s advising of
students.
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Other Suggestions Discussed
Improve the Supplemental Instruction
Leaders program with faculty development
opportunities (adjunct and full time),
increased student training, increased
tracking, and so on
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Course Completion: Gateway
Courses Subgroup
Team Members
Marsha Austin
Trish Bilcik
Jeff Carlisle
Mike Franco
Markus Smith
Jerry Steward
Alan Stringfellow
Cecelia Yoder
Susan VanSchuyver
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2/20/08
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