2. Purposeful Pathways: Faculty Planning for Curricular Coherence, funded by The Teagle Foundation, supports campus teams at four institutions—Community College of Philadelphia; University of Houston–Downtown; University of Nevada, Las Vegas; and Winston-Salem State University—as they engage in ambitious faculty-led curricular changes leading to greater intentionality in students’ curricular pathways. The project goals are driven by a shared belief that purposeful pathways created by faculty can guide students to higher levels of learning, intellectual skills development, and practical knowledge.

3. Use Q&A for: Panel discussion Use Chat for: Technology support
#AACUpathways
Slides and recording will be posted online:

4. Webinar Presenters Moderator Amy Birge Laurel Pritchard
Coordinator of Curriculum Development and Professor of English, Community College of Philadelphia
Laurel Pritchard
Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Tia Brown McNair Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Student Success and Executive Director for the TRHT Campus Centers, AAC&U
Jeffrey Jackson Chair, Department of History, Humanities, and Languages, University of Houston–Downtown
Carolynn Berry Senior Associate Provost, Winston-Salem State University

5. Purposeful Pathways Project Goals
To implement faculty-led curricular changes that create a more coherent and intentional curriculum that promotes purposeful pathways for student learning that are explicit and transparent.
To evaluate the effects of curricular redesign both on student learning and faculty practices.

6. IJTLHE Curricular Coherence Special Issue
Representatives from the four Purposeful Pathways project teams, and three additional Teagle Foundation grantees, are collaborating on a Special Issue of the International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (IJTLHE) on Curricular Coherence. The Special Issue will include both research and instructional articles, and will be published online in the Spring of 2020.

7. Amy Birge Coordinator of Curriculum Development and Professor of English, Community College of Philadelphia

8. Integrating Pathways and Essential Skills:
Revising General Education
at Community College of Philadelphia
Team Members:
Amy Birge, Coordinator of Curriculum Development, Professor of English
Deb Rossi, Department Chair, Allied Health
John Joyce, Program Coordinator, Liberal Arts
Laura Davidson, Program Coordinator, Health Care Studies
Eric Shannon, Research & Data Analyst, Academic Quality and Student Success

9. Key Student Facts Race/Ethnicity Initial Placement Level Enrollment
English
Math
Pre-College
4,916
6,099
College Level
3,498
1,776
Total
8,414
7,875
Enrollment
Approximately 16,909 degree and non-degree seeking students
69.9% are part-time
64.1% are female
65.3% are Pell status

10. Guided Pathways at CCP First-Year Experience Courses
Community College of Philadelphia is one of 30 community colleges in the country taking part in the Pathways Project. Community College of Philadelphia has implemented a number of initiatives related to Guided Pathways since 2015.
First-Year Experience Courses
Intensive English Language Program (IELP)
Program Maps
Dedicated Advisors
Accelerated Mathematics
Extended Advising
Contextualized Courses
Starfish
Changes in Placement
Brush-Up Workshops
Transfer Dashboard
Accelerated Learning Program (ALP)

11. General Education at CCP
Last revised in 2009
Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) established Essential Skills for general education in 2015
Questions and Concerns about General Education from faculty
More clarity about requirements
More input across the disciplines
More integrated and purposeful implementation

12. Revising General Education: Two Sides
Requirements
Skill Development & Assessment
General education courses reorganized under Essential Skills
In alignment with transfer requirements
In alignment with findings from employers
One course/pair meet requirements
Programs choose general education courses
No increase in credits for students
Ongoing Development & Assessment of Essential Skills
Academic Pathway Outcomes (APOs)
Course(s) that meets requirement gives students a foundation in the Essential Skill
Program faculty collaborate with faculty who teach foundational skills
Track and discuss how skills develop over time and across pathways/programs

13. Faculty Participation
Cross-Divisional Curriculum Planning Group
CDCP Steering Committee
CDCP
Summer Institutes
General Education Task Force (GETF)
Sub-committees
Teagle Grant Project Team
LAC & Health Care Pathway Leadership
Faculty Participation

14. Faculty Participation
90+ faculty from 36 disciplines have participated in the general education revision since Summer 2018

15. Recommendations Focus on Skills, Not Disciplines
Foreground Intentional Work
Know your silos
Multidisciplinary participation
Identify common concerns
Plan for redundancy
Identify common values
Ask for and share feedback frequently
Break through assumptions
Foreground Transparency
Flexible Leadership
Institutional support
Acknowledge faculty expertise and faculty discomfort
The “bigger picture”
Design experiences
Facilitator model
Budget for food and prizes
One-on-one

16. Next Steps Ensuring Students Are Learning:
Surveys of Students (by program, degree type, credits)
Focus Groups: Students, Faculty, Employers
Workshops: Teaching practices that best introduce and reinforce learning for Essential Skills
VALUE Institute

17. Laurel Pritchard Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

18. UNLV Project Team
Laurel Pritchard: Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education Javier Rodriguez: Associate Dean of Sciences, Professor of Life Sciences Denise Tillery: Associate Dean of Liberal Arts, Professor of English Lindsay Couzens: Director of Academic Assessment and Accreditation David Copeland: Associate Professor of Psychology Peter Kim: Senior Associate Registrar Melissa Bowles-Terry: Head of Educational Initiatives, University Libraries Maria Drake: Institutional Research Liaison Mary-Ann Winkelmes: Director, Faculty Center (currently at Brandeis University)

19. UNLV in Context
25,000 undergraduate students across more than 100 degree programs
HSI and 4th most diverse college campus in the nation
Major General Education revision based on LEAP outcomes in 2012
25% of adults in Nevada have at least a bachelor’s degree
State priorities include access, degree completion, and workforce development

20. UNLV’s Curricular Coherence Framework

21. Engaging Departments
Initial meeting with Department Chair and Undergraduate Coordinator
The “why”
How we can help
Deliverables and incentive funding
Department meets, decides whether to participate, identifies data or other needs
Team facilitator supports as needed
Faculty Survey
Campus-wide course and curriculum data forums

22. The Tools: Evaluation Rubric
Curricular Change
Preparing for Action
Making Progress
Completed Goal
Not Applicable 1
Eliminating “boutique” courses that do not directly address program learning outcomes
Boutique courses are identified; there may be some attempt to modify learning outcomes and/or course content. 
Boutique courses are modified to address some learning outcomes
Boutique courses are systematically eliminated or made electives
This change is not applicable to the program. 2
Expanding required courses to meet enrollment demand 
Course demand is examined; some attempt may be made to address enrollment issues in most pressing courses. 
Enrollment caps on all high-demand sections are raised
New sections, either online or face-to-face are created 3
Making program learning outcomes transparent to students
Program learning outcomes are passively available to students on the Degrees Directory, but no meaningful attempt is made to bring student awareness to the learning outcomes. 
Students know the program learning outcomes exist and where to find them. Program learning outcomes are available on the Degrees Directory and are incorporated in other ways (for example, in promotional materials or on course syllabi)
Program learning outcomes are explicitly tied the work students complete in the courses in their major 4
Creating/Expanding opportunities for students to create Signature Work
Signature work is planned, but not yet implemented.
Opportunities for signature work exist in elective courses
Signature work is required of all students in the form of a Culminating Experience

23. The Tools: Curricular Complexity Maps
Curriculum uploaded by Maria Drake

24. Lessons Learned Start with influencers.
Faculty (mostly) appreciate outside perspectives, but want to own the process.
Examine assumptions about what departments need to make change.
Provide long-term support and larger incentives for holistic, substantive change.

25. Jeffrey Jackson Chair, Department of History, Humanities, and Languages, University of Houston–Downtown

26. University of Houston-Downtown PURPOSEFUL PATHWAYS: FACULTY PLANNING FOR CURRICULAR COHERENCE
Team Members:
Kit Cho (Assistant Professor of Psychology)
Jeff Jackson (Professor of Philosophy)
Lucas Logan (Assistant Professor of Communication Studies)
Michelle Moosally (Associate Professor of English)
Adriana Visbal (Assistant Professor of Natural Sciences)

27. Our Students Enrollment: 14,680 52% full-time (12 credits/semester)
47% receive Pell grants
Demographics
Ethnicity
African American: 22%,
Hispanic: 48.1%,
White: 16%,
Other: 11%, and
International: 2%
Average age: 26.7

28. ISSUES RELEVANT TO PROJECT GOALS
Students do not graduate in a timely manner
Average credit hours toward Baccalaureate Degree:
Graduation rates (6-year):
Full-time: 28.2%
Part-time: 14.3%
Average student debt: $29,001 (state average: $30,516)

29. Campus Goals
Revise degree plans with better-structured pathways for student success, subsequently improving semester schedule processes.
Increase awareness by more faculty about issues of curricular design and course scheduling.
Improve student experience in cases where we can identify bottlenecks or degree requirements that are difficult to fulfill.

30. ALIGNMENT OF TEAGLE’S GOALS WITH CURRENT UHD INITIATIVES
State of Texas 60×30TX plan
By 2030, at least 60 percent of Texans ages will have a certificate or degree
Community colleges to adopt a Field of Study Curriculum

31. PLAN

32. Some Accomplishments So Far . . .

33. Carolynn Berry Senior Associate Provost, Winston-Salem State University berryc@wssu.edu

34. Curriculum Reform to Achieve Liberal Education Mission at Winston-Salem State University
Team Members:
Dr. Carolynn Berry, Senior Associate Provost
Dr. Dee Guillory, Marketing
Dr. Lynn Zubov, Education
Dr. Tanya Walker-Bethea, English
Dr. Cynthia Villagomez, History

35. 2016- 2021 Strategic Plan Designed to Support the Mission
A public, Historically Black institution with Liberal Education Mission
5,100 students with 34 undergraduate majors, 7 master’s programs, and 2 professional doctorates in the health sciences.
“The curriculum will be relevant, coherent, and diverse ……….” (Objective 1.5)

36. Where We Started with Curriculum Reform
Developed a conceptual framework for the organization of the curriculum and majors = Foundation, Breadth, and Depth
General Education is the foundation of the major
All undergraduate programs involved
Strong support of Provost
Created a ‘white paper’ for reference
Joined with AAC&U and Teagle Foundation

37. Implementation Trained at team of 10 faculty to facilitate discussions
Facilitated program meetings to ask the ‘What’ questions (Year 1)
What are the concepts (not courses) that are foundational to your discipline?
What are the sub-disciplines within your discipline you would expect a well-rounded undergraduate to encounter?
What are some areas where a student may take a deeper dive by taking an additional 3-4 courses?

38. Implementation
Team facilitated meetings to ask the next questions (Year 2)
Are the discipline concepts represented in your major student learning outcomes?
Do your courses support your discipline concepts and your SLOs?
Are you offering courses that don’t really support your discipline concepts or your SLOs?
Do you have sufficient faculty expertise to offer the depths you described?
Next Questions (Year 3)
What University SLOs make sense to pull through the major?
Where and How do you embed them in courses? Measure them?

39. Curriculum Coherency Organization and Mapping
Organize Curriculum in
Year 1
Map Courses to Major Program Outcomes in
Year 2
Map Courses to WSSU SLOs in
Year 3
Course Number
Sem Hours
Course Title
MPO 1
MPO 2
MPO 3
MPO 4
Scholarship/Experiential /Application
WSSU Learning Outcomes appropriate to the Discipline
FOUNDATION COURSES (xx HOURS) CR CT IT OC QT SL WC
BREADTH COURSES (xx HOURS)
DEPTH AREAS (x) AND COURSES (xx HOURS)
TOTAL HOURS

40. Measures
Currently:
Quantitative Review of Curriculum Template (total HRs in Major; HRs and percent of Credits in F, B & D; number of Depths)
Number of Curriculum/Course Changes Approved
Faculty’s Perception of Engagement in Project (Stages of Concern)
Chair’s Perceptions (survey and comments)
Leadership team observations
Program Student Learning Outcomes
Adding this semester:
Graduating Senior Survey (Do students see relevancy, coherency?)
End of Course Evaluation (Are students aware of where course falls in curriculum?)

41. THE CHALLENGES Faculty Don’t See Value of Curriculum Review
Value My Courses not the Curriculum
Fear of not Teaching Particular Class
Others Questioning ‘My Curriculum’
Don’t Understand Curricular Framework or Why Important
Disconnect between GE and Major
Department Chair Opposition
Struggle to Manage Opposing Curriculum Camps in Department

42. THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS Curriculum Creep Exposed by the Faculty
Good and New Curriculum Conversations among Dept. Faculty
Faculty Approaching Curriculum as Team Effort
Real Review of Program Outcomes—not just an exercise
Scaffolding of Program, University Outcomes Across the Curriculum
Where should outcomes be introduced, practiced, added to, measured?
Efficiencies in Curriculum Delivery Realized
University Curriculum Committee Requires Curriculum Review Before Changing Courses or Requirements
Provost Requiring Curriculum Coherency Review to Accompany Requests for New Faculty Lines

43. What We Have Learned
Outside Review Helps (This can be accomplished with internal Resources)
Leadership Team Needs to be Headed by Someone with Some Authority to Make Things Happen
Leadership Team Needs Regularly Scheduled Meetings to Discuss What is Being Revealed and What to Do
Faculty Need Time to Process
Chairs Need a Peer Forum to Ask Questions and Discuss
Some Chairs Need Individual Assistance
Major Curriculum Reform Can Happen Relatively Quickly
Need Student Voices to Truly Measure Impact

44. Use Q&A for: Panel discussion Use Chat for: Technology support
#AACUpathways
Slides and recording will be posted online:

45. Webinar Presenters Moderator Amy Birge Laurel Pritchard
Coordinator of Curriculum Development and Professor of English, Community College of Philadelphia
Laurel Pritchard
Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Tia Brown McNair Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Student Success and Executive Director for the TRHT Campus Centers, AAC&U
Jeffrey Jackson Chair, Department of History, Humanities, and Languages, University of Houston–Downtown
Carolynn Berry Senior Associate Provost, Winston-Salem State University

46. Forthcoming AAC&U Webinars
Wednesday, October 30
2:00-3:00 p.m.
The Emerging Landscape of Learning: A Review of Five Years of AAC&U’s VALUE Initiative
Thursday, November 14
1:30-2:30 p.m.
Fostering Civic Consciousness through Creativity-Based Pedagogy
Wednesday, December 11
STEM Matters: The Formula for Driving Innovation

47. Thank You!