REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

Pre-College Basic Skills Program

The City University of New York

Office of Academic Affairs

535 East 80th Street

New York, NY 10021

October 5. 2000

I. Introduction

The Office of Academic Affairs is announcing the availability of funds for colleges to establish two pilot year-round pre-collegiate basic skills programs during the 2000-2001 academic year. Funds will be awarded after a review of proposals submitted by interested colleges. This document outlines the type of program envisioned and the requirements of’ the proposal process.

The pilot programs will be expected to:

• identify the most promising instructional approaches for students with different skills

profiles;

• establish benchmarks of satisfactory progress for students enrolled in pre-college basic skills programs;

• provide laboratories for instructional innovation;

• identify the most effective forms of integration of pre-college initiatives into the overall college environment.

In the past, CUNY faculty members and staff developed a rich variety of curricular and instructional models for use with students enrolled in remedial courses. It is expected that that substantial record of achievement end innovation will serve as the basis for the development and implementation of the pilot programs.

The performance of the pilot programs will be monitored and reviewed by a Special University Committee, composed of faculty and administrative staff, to be selected by the Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.

II. Background

Each year, many Eng1ish-speaking individuals who possess high school diplomas but who lack the academic skills necessary for successful college-level study apply to and are accepted by the University. For most, their lack of adequate preparation is identified by their performance on the University's freshman skills tests. According to the University’s Office of Institutional Research & Analysis, in the fall of 1999, 51% of first-time freshmen admitted to baccalaureate programs failed one or more of the Freshman Skills Assessment Tests (FSAT) and 88.5% of first-time freshmen admitted to associate degree programs failed one or more.

In addition. many of those who enroll are adults and individuals who have obtained high school equivalency diplomas who have little opportunity to improve their basic skills prior to college enrollment. In 1998, 40.4% of all undergraduates were individuals above 25 years of age. In the fall of 1999, 6.4% of first-time freshmen enrolling in baccalaureate programs and 22.8% of first-time freshmen enrolling in associate degree programs were individuals who possessed high school equivalency diplomas.

According to current University policies, as of the fall of 2001, those who need remediation will not be eligible for enrollment in baccalaureate degree programs and those who enroll in associate degree programs arc required to enroll in non-credit remedial courses.

III. Goals

The goals of the pro-college bask skills programs arc:

• to improve students’ preparedness for college-level study;

• to increase the numbers of students eligible for entry into baccalaureate programs.

• to enhance students’ familiarity with all aspects of the college experience;

• to promote informed choices of programs of study upon matriculation

• to assist students in careful planning concerning the personal and financial demands of college study.

IV. Students

The students to be enrolled in the pre-college basic skills programs will include:

• English-proficient individuals with high school diplomas who, upon application to the University, fail two or more of the required freshman skills assessment tests with scores significantly below the passing thresholds, and

• English-proficient individuals with high school diplomas who have either applied to or expressed interest in applying to a University college and who are referred to the program by cooperating employers, employer associations. Community-based organizations or unions.

The pilot programs will be University programs located at particular colleges. Therefore, they will enroll students who have applied to or intend to apply to any of the colleges in the University.

V. Program Description

The pre-college basic skills programs will operate throughout the year--during the fall, spring and summer semesters. They will provide interested and eligible individuals with opportunities for full and part-time study. Classes will be offered during the day evening and weekends.

Each college will be responsible for designating an appropriate entity (such as an academic department, a division of continuing education, or a special program) for the responsibility of organizing and operating the program.

The pilot programs will offer students a comprehensive program of study designed for the improvement of their basic skills in reading, writing, mathematics and computer uses (especially word processing and Internet-based research) in the context of the demands of college-level study. The programs will provide students with:

• individualized assessments of reading writing, math and computer skills in light of current University requirements and the demands of different programs of study

• on-going advisement concerning courses of study and career opportunities;

• non-credit, developmental course work in a wide variety of academic content areas linked to the major areas of study available at the University (see below for description);

• substantial opportunities to experience the various dimensions of extra-curricular activities on college campuses;

• comprehensive orientations to college (including information and assistance in securing appropriate financial aid).

The programs will be structured to introduce students into the ways colleges work in areas such as registration, advisement, course requirements, grades and satisfactory progress. In addition, all courses will be designed to anticipate the demands of actual college-level courses across the disciplines and programs of study available at the University.

Recruitment

Recruitment activities will be conducted in cooperation with the University’s Office of Admissions Services, campus-based admissions offices and a variety of employers, employer associations, unions and community-based organizations.

Orientation

All interested students will he required to attend comprehensive orientation sessions where they will be informed of the goals of the program, the courses and other activities to be offered, the schedule of classes, the eligibility requirements, and the expectations concerning attendance and performance.

Assessment

All those interested in enrolling in the program will be required to have taken the University’s freshman skills tests. Applicants for admission to the pre-college programs who have not yet taken the skills tests as part of the applications process will be scheduled for testing prior to acceptance into the program. Results will be reported to students, the pre-college program and the college of subsequent enrollment.

Courses

Courses will meet for either six or nine hours per week--depending on the nature of course content and scheduling constraints. Courses will be offered at levels of difficulty that match the needs of students--in light of the eventual demands they will encounter at the college level. In all courses, students will be expected to read content appropriate texts selected in accordance with the reading skills of the students and the demands of course work in the disciplines at the college level. In all courses, students will be expected to complete written assignments and to complete substantial assignments outside of class, including appropriate research projects. Finally, all courses will integrate the use of computers for the completion of written work and research.

The programs will compile a program catalogue that will include course descriptions, with information on course content and its appropriateness for preparation for different programs of study at the college level.

Standards

The expectations of the nature, quantity and quality of work and of attendance required for satisfactory course completion at each level will be developed by the pilot program staff in consultation with the faculty in the various academic disciplines and in the departments charged with basic skills remediation at the college. As those expectations arc articulated, they will be incorporated into written descriptions of courses provided to students prior to the start of each semester. The overall expectation will be that satisfactory completion of a specified number of highest-level courses will be consistently aligned with satisfactory performance on the skills tests and with satisfactory performance in introductory college-level courses.

Registration

Students will be able to register for no fewer than six and no more than 24 hours of weekly coursework in each of four program sessions--the fall (for 15 weeks), the spring (for 15 weeks), and the summer (two sessions of five weeks each).

Initial registrations will be approved after an evaluation of students’ performance on the University’s skills tests. Subsequent registrations will be approved on the basis of a review of performance in program courses. In order to register for higher level courses, students will have to complete specified lower-level courses or have demonstrated mastery of the requisite skills through their performance on the skills tests.

No student who has failed to complete two or more courses of the pre-college program in one year will be permitted to register for additional courses.

VI. Expected Outcomes

The expected outcomes of the pre-college basic skills programs are:

• improved performance on the University’s skills tests;

• increased eligibility for enrollment in baccalaureate programs;

• high rates of satisfactory completion of program courses;

• increased rates of credit course taking during the first year of college enrollment;

• increased rates of passing credit courses during the first year of college enrollment;

• increased rates of passing of non-credit courses during the first year of college enrollment;

• improvements in first-year grade point averages;

• increased rates of enrollments in the second year of college.

Specific benchmarks of expected performance on the above measures will be established by the Special University Committee in consultation with the selected campuses during the first semester of program operation.

VII. Faculty Involvement

Each pilot program will be developed and operated with the fullest possible cooperation and involvement of the faculty--from all relevant departments and from special initiatives such as Writing Across the Curriculum and the Coordinated Freshman Year Programs.

Faculty involvement will be required in the development of courses, the articulation of standards, the professional development of the program’s teaching staff and the design for the integration of the program into the overall environment of the college.

VIII. Professional Development

Each pilot program will devote substantial time, energy and resources to the on-going professional development of all program staff. Professional development activities will include, but not be limited to, the following: collaborative curriculum development projects, meetings to discuss student work, readings of relevant professional literature, participation in seminars, participation in conferences and submission of articles to professional journals.

IX. Staffing

The teaching staff will consist of individuals to be employed as full and part-time "continuing education teacher" (as defined in the PSC contract). In addition to their regular teaching hours each week that the program is in session, they will be paid for additional hours during and between sessions to perform work related to the assessment and advisement of students, the development of courses and participation in professional development activities. A uniform pay scale for teachers will be developed for use in all pilot programs.

All staff will be expected to have substantial experience and knowledge about the provision of academic skills instruction in a pre-college setting. In addition, all teachers will be expected to have substantial content-area knowledge relevant to the range of courses to be offered in the programs.

X. Funding

Funding will be provided on a formula basis of $90 per instructional hour. A full-year program of fall, spring and summer sessions (providing approximately 5,400 hours of instruction) would receive approximately $500,000. During the initial year of program operation, the budgets will be adjusted to reflect the mid-year starting point and the need for initial planning and organizational activities.

It is expected that students will be required to pay a modest course registration fee.

XI. Evaluation

The focus of the initial evaluation, to be completed before the end of the first full year of pilot operation, will be on overall program coherence and effectiveness in the areas of student recruitment, assessment, placement, advisement, faculty involvement, course development, instruction, staff selection, professional development and program integration into the overall college environment.

In addition, in order to allow for the subsequent evaluation of programmatic effectiveness related to the above-mentioned goals, the programs will collect, maintain and report data on student characteristics, student performance prior to enrollment, student performance within the program and student performance on University skills tests upon completion of the program.

All evaluations of program performance will be conducted by the University’s Office of Institutional Research and Analysis in cooperation with externa1 evaluators as necessary.

The evaluation results will be reported regularly to the members of the Special University Committee.

XII. Coordination

The pilot programs will be coordinated by the Office of Academic Affairs. Each program will designate a program director and a lead faculty liaison to work closely with staff at the Office of Academic Affairs in the development of all program policies and procedure.

XIII. Timeline

The pilot programs will begin classes in February of 2001. In order to do so, the following timeline has been developed:

October 4, 2000 Request for Proposals Issued

October 18, 2000 Proposal Meeting held

October 31, 2000 Proposals Due

November 10,2000 Colleges Selected

December 31, 2000 Staff Selected

Space Selected/Equipment & Furnishings Delivered

January 31,2001 Initial Course Development Completed

Initial Recruitment/Orientation/Assessment Completed

February 16,2001 Registration Completed

February 19,2001 Classes Begin

XIV. Proposals

Colleges will be selected to establish pilot programs on the basis of proposals to be submitted to the Office of Academic Affairs no later than October 31, 2000.

Proposals must:

• describe the planning process used in the development of the proposal and specify the involvement of staff from different departments and programs;

• describe the scope of the proposed program, including type of courses to be offered; anticipated course content by level; methods of integrating reading, writing and computer uses into academic content; preliminary standards of satisfactory performance; preliminary grading policy;

• identify the department or office which will administer the program;

• describe staffing patterns including use of both full and part-time teachers enumerate qualifications for all expected positions; describe form and extent of on-going faculty involvement; describe professional development plans;

• provide a detailed budget;

• summarize and explain use of funds.

XV. Criteria for Selection

Proposals will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

comprehensiveness of planning process;

appropriate scope of proposed program in light of overall program goals and expected outcomes;

capacity (as reflected in the extent of faculty involvement, the qualifications for staff positions and the plan for integration of the pilot program into the college);

appropriate uses of budget resources.