COTA Meeting Minutes September 2005

Committee on Transfer and Articulation (COTA)
Conference Call
September 13, 2005  

Approved October 31, 2005

Participants: Don Doucette, Karen Finkenkeller, Evelyn Jorgenson, Stephen Lehmkuhle, Julio Leon, James Scanlon, Marsha Drennon

MDHE Staff: Greg Fitch, Robert Stein, Laura Vedenhaupt, Jeremy Kintzel

Guests: Deborah Carr (UMC), Jeanie Crain (MWSC), Mary Beth Huxel (ECC), Mike Lucas (DESE), Kandis Smith (UM System) Chair Evelyn Jorgenson called the meeting to order at 2:00pm on September 13, 2005 .

Approval of Minutes

The minutes of the July 7, 2005 meeting were approved.

Articulation of Teacher Education Programs

COTA discussed issues regarding the articulation of teacher education programs between two- and four-year institutions. Dr. Robert Stein summarized work completed in May 2001 from COTA's Teacher Education Articulation Advisory Committee (TEAAC), an ad hoc committee charged with identifying concerns involving teacher education articulation. Highlights from TEAAC recommendations made in May 2001 include the following:

1. Conduct research comparing academic performance of teacher education transfer students with teacher education native students.
2. Conduct research on the relationship between knowledge tested by C-BASE and the general education knowledge needed for Missouri teacher education programs.
3. Recognize the difficulty of stating requirements as both competencies and courses.
4. DESE should move from course-based teacher certification programs to competency-based programs, and institutions should prepare students to meet the MoSTEP competencies.
5. Require four-year institutions to adopt MoSTEP standards, including mid-preparation benchmarks.
6. Encourage four-year institutions to develop and publish requirements for teacher education programs that students who transfer with an AA degree must complete.
7. Encourage two- and four-year institutions to develop bi-lateral teacher education program articulation agreements.
8. Establish a statewide policy on teacher education articulation whereby students who earn an AA degree from a state approved teacher education program will not be required to complete additional general education or other program requirements from the mid-preparation point that are not also required of native students.
9. Redesign the teacher education approval process so that two- and four-year institutions are included as components of the same package.

Ms. Mary Beth Huxel, two-year chair of the Missouri Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (MACTE), stated that community colleges are basing coursework on MoSTEP competencies. Many two- and four-year institutions have individual transfer agreements, but there is a lack of consistency in requirements. Different agreements with different institutions create obstacles for students.

A suggestion was made to develop a uniform curriculum for two-year teacher education programs that would create a base for four-year institutions to build upon. Discussion focused on community colleges working with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to develop a common AA teacher education degree. Mike Lucas stated that DESE tries not to be overly proscriptive and that a common AA teacher education program would ease regulatory burdens.

Dr. Deborah Carr, four-year chair of MACTE, stated that the mid-preparation benchmarks agreed upon by two-year institutions have not been adopted by all four-year institutions. With much articulation left to individual negotiations, students must decide upon their destination program very early in their education if credit transfer is to be successful. More consistency is needed.

Dr. Steve Lehmkuhle suggested that two-year institutions work with DESE and develop a common curriculum for the first two years and then forge conversations with four-year institutions with the intent of establishing a common approach for articulation.

Dr. Stein asked the MACTE representatives if that organization would be receptive to developing a pilot articulation agreement by two- and four-year institutions within regions. Donald Doucette commented that regional approaches have not worked in part due to fears of jeopardizing current articulation agreements.

COTA members generally agreed that common competencies should equal common degree requirements and that transfer students should meet the same requirements for degree completion as native students.

After discussion, Dr. Carr and Ms. Huxel agreed to communicate with the MACTE membership about the issues discussed during the conference call. COTA asked that MACTE make a recommendation on strategies that could be used to improve teacher education articulation in Missouri . MACTE will meet in late October and will provide its recommendations by the November COTA meeting.

Dr. Lucas, Dr. Carr, and Ms. Huxel departed.

Approval of Credit Transfer Policy Revisions

The revisions to the Credit Transfer Policy were approved. Dr. Stein will prepare a consent item for the October Coordinating Board for Higher Education (CBHE) meeting. After the October board meeting, Dr. Jorgenson will disseminate the updated policy to institutions and MDHE staff will post the changes to the MDHE website.

Transfer and Articulation Conference

COTA members agreed that previous transfer and articulation conferences were valuable to all educational sectors and discussed methods to reinstate this event. Dr. Jorgenson invited volunteers for a Leadership Team for a Transfer and Articulation conference. Dr. Marsha Drennon, Ms. Karen Finkenkeller, Dr. Jorgenson, and Dr. Jeanie Crain agreed to participate on this team. Dr. Julio Leon agreed to name a representative. Dr. Stein stated that staff and budget reductions preclude the MDHE from taking the lead, but the MDHE would support COTA however possible.

The Leadership Team will make a recommendation to COTA regarding how to restart these conferences, when to hold the first conference, and where to obtain funding. Dr. Stein agreed to chair the first meeting of the Leadership Team with the understanding that the conference must have buy-in by the institutions if it is to be successful.

CBHE Recommended High School Core Curriculum

Discussion on this item was tabled until the next meeting.

Course Applicability System (CAS)

Discussion on this item was tabled. Dr. Jorgenson asked COTA members to review the CAS website in preparation for the next meeting. Dr. Kandis Smith advised that registrars seemed excited at the usefulness of the CAS but warned that implementation is a slow process.

Development of Transfer/Articulation Resources

COTA discussed creating a resource for transfer and articulation information. Dr. Jorgenson noted that Phi Beta Kappa is developing a national web-based resource center designed to assist students in transferring between schools. The resource may be a web page to which links would be updated and added to over time.

Further discussion on this item was tabled. Dr. Jorgenson requested that COTA members consider how to proceed and be prepared to discuss this issue at the next meeting.

Adjournment

The meeting adjourned at 3:15 pm.