Paying for college:
| New course | Undergraduate |
| First term offered : Winter 2011 | ||
| Course Prefix&Number | Descriptive Title | Credits/Hours |
| BI101-2-3X | General Biology Peer Led Team Learning | 0 - 0 |
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Abbreviation for Class Schedule(20 spaces) PEER LED INSTRUCTION |
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Catalog Description: Peer-led Team Learning (PLTL) is a separate, 0-credit course that uses a learning model designed for participating students registered in introductory biology series to develop a broader and deeper understanding of course concepts. |
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Course Goal and Objectives: Weekly 2-hour sessions are led by students who have successfully completed the course. While there is no letter grade for PLTL, leaders will arrange meeting times and take roll on a weekly basis; attendance is mandatory. The benefits for participating students typically include better performance in corresponding courses. |
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Justification for adding the course (e.g. alignment with other institutions, program revision, etc.): The BI 100 instructors who lead PLTL have kept informal records of student performance and have found that PLTL participants typically perform at least one letter grade higher on average than the remainder of the class. In Fall 2011 term, BI 102 students who registered for PLTL after performing poorly on their first exam, improved their scores by 5-10 percentage points on average in their subsequent exam. Thus, this appears to be a very beneficial learning model for students. Prior to Winter 2011, students have registered and paid a tuition fee to attend PLTL. Unfortunately, many students have expressed that while they would like to participate in PLTL, they cannot afford the course fee, or it is not covered by their financial aid or VA benefits since it is not a required course. Indeed, several students have dropped PLTL when they discovered that the course was going to require that they pay these additional course fees. During Winter 2011 we made a temporary course change to offer the course for 0 credits at no cost to students. We have still required registration for student tracking, but the tuition is no longer required. This experiment has increased PLTL significantly for BI 102 (from 12 students in Fall 2010 to 48 students in Winter 2011). We would like to make the change permanent, and attach a modest $20 course fee to cover the cost of materials and supplies used by the student leaders. |
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Faculty and facilities needed: Courses are held TBA, with student leaders scheduling sessions after regular course hours using existing NSM facilities or library study rooms. Faculty provide coordination for student leaders. |
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Brief Course outline: Peer-led Team Learning (PLTL) is a separate, 0-credit course that uses a learning model designed for participating students to develop a broader and deeper understanding of course concepts. Weekly 2-hour sessions are led by students who have successfully completed the course. While there is no letter grade for PLTL, leaders will arrange meeting times and take roll on a weekly basis; attendance is mandatory. The benefits for participating students typically include better performance in corresponding courses. |
| Step | Approver | Decision | Timestamp |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 - Department | Sarah Boomer | Approved | March 10 2011 |
| 2 - Division | Steve Taylor | Approved | March 14 2011 |
| 3 - Division Curriculum | Laurie Burton | Approved | March 18 2011 |
| 5 - Curriculum Committee | Robert Monge | Approved | April 19 2011 |
| 6 - Faculty Senate | Gavin Keulks | Approved | April 21 2011 |
| 7 - Dean | Stephen Scheck | Approved | April 22 2011 |
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Comments: This is operated within the LAS budget. Benefit of retention and student success justifies the small investment LAS makes in some work-study assignments to manage the PLTL program. |
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| 8 - Provost | Kent Neely | Approved | April 25 2011 |
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