FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 15, 2005
NCAT Releases Report on Increasing Success for Underserved Students
New monograph examines the impact of introductory course redesign on the success of adult students, students of color and low-income students.
(Saratoga Springs , NY) – The National Center for Academic Transformation (NCAT) released its report today, Increasing Success for Underserved Students: Redesigning Introductory Courses. Supported by a grant from Lumina Foundation for Education, the monograph is the result of an examination of how redesigning introductory courses using technology can contribute to the success of traditionally underserved students (students of color, low-income students and adult students.) The findings presented in the monograph demonstrate how institutions with high percentages of the target student populations have made significant improvements in student learning outcomes and student retention, while simultaneously reducing instructional costs.
Many students who begin postsecondary education drop out before completing a degree. An estimated 60 percent of students at public institutions fail to complete degrees within five years, and half of these students leave during the freshman year. As shown by research by the Policy Center on the First Year of College at Brevard College in North Carolina and others, the first year of college is the most critical to a college student’s success and to degree completion. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), almost half of first-time students who leave their initial institutions by the end of the first year do not return to higher education. The results are far worse for African-American, Hispanic, Native American, and low-income students.
“Our findings contradict the assumption that underserved students and technology use do not mix,” said Carol A. Twigg, president and CEO of NCAT. “The use of information technology, a cornerstone of these redesigns, makes it possible to incorporate good pedagogical practice into courses with very large numbers of students, which in turn leads to greater learning.”
The results have promising implications for institutions seeking to increase success among underserved students. Most efforts to address low success rates among underserved students are “add-ons” to existing programs: special-purpose academic programming alongside the regular curriculum and additional services tailored to address the needs of these populations. Evidence about the effectiveness of such approaches is mixed, and they unquestionably cost more money. Redesigning introductory courses suggests an alternate route that costs less over time and generates savings that may be reinvested elsewhere to support student success.
A forthcoming Lumina Foundation publication on solutions to the college costs issue in American higher education will also feature NCAT’s course redesign methodology. Twigg's paper was selected by a national editorial advisory panel as one of the most promising solutions to address the problem of the rising costs of college.
To access this monograph and for more information on course redesign and the National Center for Academic Transformation, please visit the NCAT Web site at www.theNCAT.org
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About The National Center for Academic Transformation
NCAT is an independent non-profit organization dedicated to the effective use of information technology to improve student learning outcomes and reduce the cost of higher education.
About Lumina Foundation for Education
Lumina Foundation for Education, an Indianapolis-based, private, independent foundation, strives to help people achieve their potential by expanding access and success in education beyond high school. For more details on the Foundation, visit its Web site at www.luminafoundation.org.
