EL CAMINO COLLEGE & COMPTON EDUCATION CENTER (CA)
Report submitted by Kristie Daniel-DiGregorio, Rose Ann Cerofeci, and Donna Manno, drawn from research by Irene Graff, El Camino College, CA
As one of the first campuses to adopt the use of On Course, El Camino College (ECC) has invested nearly two decades in developing innovative applications of the On Course principles. These efforts have transformed faculty and student learning, our campus, and our larger community.
The Program
The Faculty Inquiry Partnership Program (FIPP) commenced in 2009 and was funded through Fall 2011 with generous support from El Camino College’s Basic Skills Initiative and from the WalMart Student Success Initiative. A total of five faculty cohorts participated in On Course workshops held on campus, incorporating 125 faculty representing two campuses, all academic disciplines, and programs for first-generation students such as EOPS, Puente, and FYE. Participants completed an on-campus On Course I Workshop, during which cross-disciplinary partnerships were formed. Each FIPP pair collaborated to implement at least five On Course strategies into their teaching and into campus-wide leadership initiatives. The program coordinators designed monthly On Course-related workshops, extensive reporting and assessment tools, a faculty handbook, video testimonials, and a website featuring more than 300 OC-related strategies from all disciplines. Through the 125 FIPP participants, the program continues to affect thousands of students and hundreds of faculty in faculty development initiatives for campus-wide Flex Day, Basic Skills, FYE, Title V Learning Teams and others. Many of the 22 ECC and all of the 20 ECC-Compton OCAs were recruited through FIPP.
Outcomes
Pre- v. Post-FIPP comparisons convey the significant impact On Course has had on faculty, students and the campus. More than one year after completing the program, 97% of faculty continued to utilize two or more On Course strategies in their teaching and 42% reported using six or more strategies. Eighty-one percent are still in contact with their partners. Nearly all of the faculty participants (99%) reported that FIPP positively impacted their teaching. The program is associated with modest but consistent increases in student success. Student success rates after instructors attended FIPP were 2% higher than before their involvement in the program. After the program, FIPP participants reported statistically significant increases in the level of active learning by their students and in their own satisfaction in dealing with difficult student behaviors and negative student attitudes. They also reported significant decreases in the occurrence of difficult student behaviors and negative student attitudes. Among students, 91% responded that the On Course-related strategies helped them understand the material and increase their interest in content; 92% reported the strategies would contribute to their success as a student.
