Achieving College Excellence (ACE) Program

Campus

Yap

AP Review Submission Date

October 2016

Completed by

Joy Guarin

AR Review Cycle

Fall 2014-Spring 2016

At the completion of Achieving College Excellence (ACE) the student will be able to:

1. Demonstrate mastery in math and English skills to be able to complete successfully an introductory level course.
2. Determine the value of lifelong learning and demonstrate the skills and attitudes necessary for the attainment of academic goals.
3. Demonstrate critical thinking skills necessary to analyze, interpret, evaluate, process and apply academic content.
4. Utilize and transfer knowledge of the foundations and concepts for math and English to the academic setting.

Most entering the College of Micronesia-FSM (COM-FSM) are under prepared for college level work even according to the in-housed designed entrance test, College of Micronesia Entrance Test or COMET. Evaluations of the existing developmental programs, Intensive English Instruction and General Studies, revealed discouraging results. Hence in September 2007, a working group was established to find solutions and design a series of courses to better meet the needs of the students. ACE received approval in spring 2009. A substantive change request was submitted to WASC and ACCJC with approval granted in Spring 2010 and implementation of ACE began fall 2010. Yap campus had 25 students for ESL 91 and 3 for ESL 92, 11 for MS 91 and 9 for MS 92 during Fall 2010.

High School graduates and General Educational Development(GED) certificate holders who are not accepted into or are not interested in a degree program may apply for admission into an entry level certificate of achievement program. Applicants with significantly low scores are ineligible for admission. Other certificates of achievement program are offered when criteria for offering the program are met. Admissions requirements vary with the program. Application forms are available at Yap campus.

ACE Requirements……………................. 16 credits

ESL 091 ACE English I (4)
ESL 092 ACE English II (4)
MS 091 ACE Math I (4)
MS 092 ACE Math II (4)

ACE includes weekly seminars on the first year of college experience.

Program Indicators

Assessment of course student learning outcomes of program courses

PSLO Assessment Report Summary- Fall 2014-Spring 2015

What we looked at:
The ACE assessment focused on PSLO 1,3 and 4. Listed below are the results for the PSLOs.
What we found:
PSLO 1:

• 75% of the students achieved at least a 70% on the ACE math exit exam and 73% of the students were successful on the English reading and writing exam. Students had to score at 10th grade reading level and 40 points on the essay for Fall 2014.
• 88% of the students achieved at least a 70% on the ACE math exit exam and 100% of the students were successful on the English reading and writing exam. Students had to score at 10th grade reading level and 40 points on the essay for Spring 2015

PSLO 3:

• 82% of the students were able to demonstrate critical thinking skills by writing an essay based on a series of readings on one topic. 75% of the students were able to solve real world math problems using critical thinking skills for Fall 2014.
• 100% of the students were able to demonstrate critical thinking skills by writing an essay based on a series of readings on one topic. 88% of the students were able to solve real world math problems using critical thinking skills.
• 93 out of 107 (87%) students were able to demonstrate fluency through their smooth delivery during their performance.

PSLO 4:

• The average completion rate is 79% in 100 level courses in English and 100% in 100 level course in Math for Fall 2014
• The average completion rate is 100% in 100 level courses in English and 33% in 100 level course in Math Spring 2015

Former ACE students performance in higher English and Math courses in Yap campus for Fall 2014

Former ACE students performance in higher English and Math courses in Yap campus, for Spring 2015

• Improve tutoring opportunities so students will expand critical thinking skills and learn strategies for English reading, writing and math.
• Identify at risk students one week into the six-week session for early intervention.
• Include more real life experiences in the classroom activities
• Provide targeted advising for ACE students transitioning to college level courses.
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• Attend class and complete assignments without instructor intervention. Be responsible for your own learning.
• Communicate course concerns with their instructor or ask basic questions.
• Understand the necessity of a good math foundation before they begin the program.
• Read a variety of materials and read everyday.
.
• Follow written and oral directions.
• Write for a variety of reasons and write everyday.
• Eat breakfast and lunch. A full stomach helps keep you focused on schoolwork.
• Never give up. Learn from your mistakes and you will go a long way.

PSLO Assessment Report Summary Fall 2015-Spring 2016
What we looked at:
The ACE assessment focused on PSLO 1,3 and 4. Listed below are the results for the PSLOs.

• 89% (16/18) of the students were successful on the ACE 2 math exit exam and 94% (17/18) of the students were successful on the English reading and writing exam for ACE 2 English. Students had to score at 10th grade reading level and 40 points on the essay (Fall 2015).
• No ACE Math was offered last Spring 2016. 89% (8/9) of the students were successful on the English reading and writing exam in ACE 2 English . Students had to score at 10th grade reading level and 40 points on the essay

PSLO 3:

• 94% or (17/18) of the students were able to demonstrate critical thinking skills by writing an essay based on a series of readings on one topic for ACE 2 English. 89% (16/18) of the students were able to solve real world math problems using critical thinking skills for ACE 2 Math (Fall 2015).
• No ACE Math was offered last Spring 2016. 89% or (8/9) of the students were able to demonstrate critical thinking skills by writing an essay based on a series of readings on one topic for ACE 2 Math.

PSLO 4:

• The average completion rate is 92% for both ACE 2 Math and ACE 2 English courses (Fall 2015)
• The average completion rate for ACE 2 English is 89% (Spring 2016)

Former ACE students performance in higher English and Math courses in Yap campus

What we are planning to work on:

• Improve tutoring services and include more real-life activities in teaching the course for ACE Math.
• In Reading: we need to strengthen their reading comprehension ( very weak)
  A. Context: skills include context clues
  B. Relationships” time order, spatial, cause and effects, contrast, comparison, patterns
  C. Inferences/drawing conclusion/ making predictions
  D. Structure: words skills: prefixes/suffixes/ analogies/synonyms, homonyms, antonyms, etc.
  E. Identifying and writing main ideas
• In writing: we need to work on students’ command of the English language:
  A. easily confused words: then/than, whether/weather, etc.
  B. vocabulary comprehension usage
  C. sentence/word diction

Recommendations for students:

• Maintain a positive attitude to keep up in mathematics courses. Never give up and have self-discipline. Organize your time (schedule) in studying and attend class regularly. Ask for a tutor or ask help in solving problems from the instructors. (For ACE Math).
• Visit the library and have them read(books, newspaper, magazines) and tutor them how to write summary reports from their reading (ACE English)
• Have them visit the regular tutors for additional help in their essay organization/grammar (ACE English)
• Master MLA formatting (ACE English) by asking the help of the instructor and apply in doing a research on a particular topic.

Table 1A. Enrollment patterns by major

Table 1B. Enrollment of the program as compared to the total enrollment of Yap campus

Table 2 Credits by major

Table 1 Average class size ACE English

Table 2 Average class size ACE Math

* Average class size for ACE English is 18 and for ACE Math is 13.

Table 1. Fall 2014 Completion Rate per Course

Table 2. Spring 2015 Completion Rate per Course

Table 3. Fall 2015 Completion Rate per Course

Table 5. Spring 2016 Completion Rate per Course

• For ACE ENGLISH- Rate of students with W- 0%; Rate of students with a grade of F- 9.7%; General completion rate- 94%.
• For ACE MATH- Rate of students with W- 0%; Rate of students with a grade of F- 9%; General completion rate- 94%.

CPC- Cost Per Credit; CPS- Cost Per Student

The following are the items used in the survey

Students’ Satisfaction Survey Results(Weighted Means) Legend:
N-Number of students; AWM Average Weighted Mean; D – Descriptive Equivalent; U- Usually; A- Always

The table below shows detailed information on the students’ satisfaction survey during Fall 2014.

Spring 2015

Fall 2015

*Average general weighted mean- 4.10 which means “Always”

Findings

1. 75% of the students achieved at least a 70% on the ACE math exit exam and 73% of the students were successful on the English reading and writing exam. Students had to score at 10th grade reading level and 40 points on the essay for Fall 2014.
2. 88% of the students achieved at least a 70% on the ACE math exit exam and 100% of the students were successful on the English reading and writing exam. Students had to score at 10th grade reading level and 40 points on the essay for Spring 2015
3. 82% of the students were able to demonstrate critical thinking skills by writing an essay based on a series of readings on one topic. 75% of the students were able to solve real world math problems using critical thinking skills for Fall 2014.
4. 100% of the students were able to demonstrate critical thinking skills by writing an essay based on a series of readings on one topic. 88% of the students were able to solve real world math problems using critical thinking skills.
5. The average completion rate is 79% in 100 level courses in English and 100% in 100 level course in Math for Fall 2014
6. The average completion rate is 100% in 100 level courses in English and 33% in 100 level course in Math Spring 2015
7. Course Level Assessment were completed during Fall 2014, Spring 2015, and Fall 2015, and Spring 2016.
8. 5 out of 9 ACE classes had less than 10 students.
9. Average class size for ACE English is 18 and for ACE Math is 13.
10. For ACE ENGLISH- Rate of students with W- 0%; Rate of students with a grade of F- 9.7%; General completion rate- 94%.
11. For ACE MATH- Rate of students with W- 0%; Rate of students with a grade of F- 9%; General completion rate- 94%.
12. Average general weighted mean- 4.10 or “Always” for the student evaluation for Instructors.

Recommendations

1. Recommendations from the Course Level Assessments:

For ACE English

Reading English Lab and either the Study Skills part should be a different class, or have another teacher to teach that class every Friday. The name of this Study Skills class should not be Study Skills, but something similar to that nature. College life or making It in College or Being Successful in College. I think the word study scares the students. The reason for making this separate is that our students are very limited in the English language most especially the students from the Neighboring Islands schools and there is just not enough time to do that with the pressure of the intensive reading vocabulary and writing classes. In addition, having another teacher to teach this class is a break from the monotony of the regular teacher.