COTA Meeting Minutes, April 2006

Committee on Transfer and Articulation (COTA)
Missouri Department of Higher Education
April 18, 2006

Approved May 16, 2006

Participants: Evelyn Jorgenson, Don Doucette, Julio Leon, Kandis Smith, Jeanie Crain, Stephen Lehmkuhle, Arlen Dykstra

MDHE Staff: Robert Stein, Leroy Wade, Jeremy Kintzel

Guests: Jim King, Mike Jeffers, Deborah Berry

Dr. Robert Stein called the meeting to order at 12:00 p.m.

Approval of Minutes

A motion was made by Dr. Arlen Dykstra and seconded by Dr. Stephen Lehmkuhle to approve the minutes of the February 21, 2006 meeting. The motion passed unanimously.

Advanced Credit Policy/Study

Dr. Stein described the context of the current policy guidance on advanced credit, designed to communicate minimum expectations for faculty and student eligibility, administration, program structures, and quality control. Dr. Stein expressed interest in collaboration with K-12 faculty, administration, and staff in an updated study of advanced credit in Missouri. Dr. Stein welcomed Dr. Jim King, executive director of the Missouri Association of Secondary School Principals, Mr. Mike Jeffers, principal of Hickman High School (Columbia, MO), and Ms. Deborah Berry, assistant principal of Park Hill High School (Kansas City, MO). COTA and guests discussed:

• the rigor of AP, IB, and dual credit programs
• national momentum for AP
• potential impact of A+ on dual credit enrollment
• logistics of maintaining partnerships with multiple advanced credit providers (often to provide a greater range of content)
• growing interest in career academies/other pathways for professional/technical advanced credit
• differences among higher education partners in payments to high school teachers/purchasing materials
• differences in faculty qualifications among advanced credit opportunities/partners, as well as impact of required qualifications of K-12 course offerings
• program oversight/evaluation by higher education partners
• impact of decentralized decision-making in K-12 regarding advanced credit course offerings
• whether dual credit student eligibility requirements might be impacted by "delayed enrollment" for college credit
• transferability of advanced credit as directly equivalent or elective credit
• potential impact of distance learning dual credit on policy development, education access, and service regions
• potential conflicts between advanced credit student eligibility requirements and traditional high school course sequences (i.e. world history for sophomores)
• differences in course levels between dual credit and AP (i.e. college algebra vs. calculus)
• value of school counselors in guiding students, parents, and administrators through diverse advanced credit opportunities
• potential impact of advanced credit on shortening time-to-degree
• interest in exploring how many advanced credit students are placed into postsecondary developmental education

COTA directed MDHE staff to develop a draft survey on advanced credit practices. K-12 representatives agreed that separate surveys for high schools and postsecondary providers should be developed. Areas of focus identified at the February 2006 COTA meeting will be included in the draft survey.

Subcommittee for Review of Admissions Standards (SRAS)

COTA discussed the misalignment between revised high school graduation requirements approved by the State Board of Education and the CBHE-Recommended Core Curriculum. In addition, the value of alignment of expectations between K-12 and higher education was stressed. Dr. Jeanie Crain reported that the SRAS met in Columbia on April 6, 2006. SRAS discussed the value of a consistent message to students regarding preparation for success in higher education, as well as the role of the CBHE-Recommended Core Curriculum as guidance to admissions staff and as a predictor of postsecondary success. Dr. Crain said that SRAS had discussed the value of communicating consistent minimal thresholds for access to collegiate-level work, the impact of the work of the subcommittee on institutional mission differentiation, as well as dissatisfaction with class rank as a foundation of postsecondary admission.

SRAS also discussed consensus that the Core Curriculum reflect flexibility in content descriptions to reflect diversity of course sequences and growth of integrated coursework in response to junior-level testing in K-12. In addition, SRAS discussed the potential implications for admissions processes and developmental placement of the ACT as a junior-level test. SRAS reached consensus on increasing the required units for science to three, pending agreement on relevant content descriptions; the subcommittee also discussed parameters for a revised content description in mathematics. SRAS discussed the extent to which core content descriptions or revised admissions processes might be competency-based. SRAS also expressed interest in studies of advanced credit as predictive of postsecondary success.

Dr. Stein reiterated the importance of reaching timely consensus regarding the Core Curriculum. Dr. Stein also said the revised Core Curriculum could provide valuable guidance beyond the four-year public sector for which the current Core was designed. Dr. Stein suggested that COTA consider a two-part recommendation -- revising required hours first, and later identifying a specific list of acceptable and unacceptable courses. This approach would permit COTA to meet the June 2006 deadline for an initial recommendation. COTA members stated that some SRAS members see these two issues as interdependent. COTA discussed strategies for incorporating broader involvement in policy discussions, i.e. K-12 counselors and higher education faculty. Mr. Jeffers encouraged consideration of Grade-Level Expectations in revisions to the Core and to CBHE admissions policies. Dr. Crain said that a conference call would be scheduled for SRAS to continue discussions.

Transfer and Articulation Conference

COTA was informed that sector co-chairs of the Transfer/Articulation Conference Coordinating Committee (TA-CCC) had held a conference call on April 11, 2006. The TA-CCC reached consensus on several issues and action items:

• The 2007 COTA Transfer/Articulation Conference could be linked to the February 7-8 CBHE work session and meeting, scheduled at Lincoln University.
• A 1 ½ day conference is being explored, either Feb. 7-8 (concurrent with CBHE) or Feb. 8-9 (concurrent and day after).
• TA-CCC anticipates targeting a half-day session (i.e. meetings, roundtable discussions, dinner) for sector/institutional leadership, and a full-day session for a broader audience (practitioners, faculty/staff, students).
• Conference planning will continue at a meeting to be held May 18, 2006 at MDHE.
• Co-chairs will communicate with sector groups (and MDHE staff will communicate with CBHE) to discuss preferences regarding conference structure, themes, and preferred funding mechanisms)

Associate of Arts in Teaching (AAT) Degree

COTA discussed consensus reached at a joint meeting of MACTE, MCCA, and COPHE regarding a proposed articulated associate of arts in teaching (AAT) degree. At the joint meeting, held March 24, 2006 in Columbia , attendees distributed and discussed a draft structure incorporating mid-preparation benchmarks, the 42-hour articulated general education core, C-BASE and GPA minimums, and four potential areas of concentration for students. COTA attendees encouraged the four-year sector, primarily represented by education deans/chairs, to become involved at the early stages of the discussion rather than awaiting the presentation of a finished degree by the two-year sector.

COTA discussed the importance of the proposed degree being compatible with NCATE accreditation. Dr. Stein committed to contact other states (i.e. Maryland) to research the implementation of a statewide AAT. Dr. Stein also suggested consideration could be given to guaranteeing admission to baccalaureate education programs, similar to a 2+2 program, for successful AAT completers. COTA was informed that further discussions/negotiations will take place at the May 2006 MACTE meeting. Dr. King encouraged COTA to continue to work to improve the visibility of the teaching profession to high school students.

Adjournment

The meeting adjourned at 3:30 p.m. COTA will hold a conference call at 2:00 p.m. on May 16, 2006.