RVCC 2019 NECHE Self-Study

The Department Chair, with help from one Academic Advisor who has a background in
math, and one adjunct math faculty spent AY16-17 developing and planning the corequisite
math model. This was the second major redesign of the mathematics pathway;
the first occurring in 2012 which decreased the number of courses a student testing into
the developmental pathway had to take from two to one. The first redesign resulted in
improvements in math persistence as described in Standard Five; but did not eliminate the
need for developmental courses. The Co-requisite project was planned to do just that,
eliminate the developmental courses for math whenever possible for students. The project
began by working with the CCSNH System-wide data analytics person to evaluate college
data with specific focus on developmental math success rates and persistence rates dating
back to 2011. The team then developed pacing guides and advising models for math
pathways, set SAT cut scores for each math course, developed a schedule and structure of
co-requisite mathematics courses, and developed training plans for instructors. Training
for Program Directors was also included as this was a significant change in the way
students were advised and filtered into math courses. Communication of this change to
the College as a whole took place via All-College Staff Meeting, Department Chairs
Meetings, and various working groups. The project plan was completed and the first corequisite
courses were taught in Fall of 2017. Currently, the only developmental courses
taught are for those students who show significant deficits in college-readiness related to
their math skills or those students who self-select into the developmental courses for
personal reasons. There are two courses: one for students entering into STEM fields, and
one for students entering into non-STEM fields.
Appraisal of Planning
Since Fall of 2018 there has been an increase in stability of processes due to the new
administrative structure under President Williams. For example, he recognized the need to
finalize the College’s strategic plan. Most of the work had been done on it, but it had
never been presented to the College to vote on. This was accomplished in December
2018. Further improvements under the new administration include ensuring that relevant
parties are at the table with regard to planning of programs, proactive rather than reactive
approaches to issues, and open communication with the college community.
Great strides have been made in the financial planning of the institution with improved
identification of risks, improvements in involving individual departments in planning their
own budgets, and increased transparency with regards to expenses and revenue. Program
Directors now receive weekly updated budget spreadsheets for their programs which
provides up to date information regarding spending and budgeting. This allows Program
Directors increased control of supply purchasing to meet the academic needs of their
students. Financial transparency has also led to improved understanding by the college
community with regards to the Academic Centers and how each center contributes to the
overall budget for the College.
Planning and implementation of projects has also been quite successful at the
programmatic level as evidenced by the implementation of the math co-requisite project.
The thoughtful and purposeful plan developed prior to implementation, the implementation
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