Analysis of the Strategic Initiatives for the Block at Tusculum College

Block Initiatives Running Head: BLOCK INITIATIVES Analysis of the Strategic Initiatives for the Block at Tusculum College Teresa Bagamery Clark Vanderbilt University May 2010 Block Initiatives Analysis of the Strategic Initiatives for the Block at Tusculum College Executive Summary Tusculum College in Greeneville, Tennessee has operated on the “Block,” an academic calendar in which students take—and professors teach—one course at a time for a period of 18 weekdays with several blocks composing a semester, since 1994 However, now the strategic planning committee at Tusculum has formulated a list of potential changes to the Block with the goal of enhancing the classroom experience for students and faculty The proposed initiatives would pilot during the timeframe of 2009 to 2014 One of which, the formation of living-learning communities, was tested in 2008 and implemented in fall 2009 The purpose of this study is to investigate the remaining three strategic initiatives in order to recommend which, if any, the college should implement next in the pursuit of improving the Block at Tusculum Changes to the Block currently under consideration by the strategic planning committee and administration consist of the following: first, dividing Block courses that normally last three hours in either the morning or afternoon into two one-and-ahalf-hour sessions per day (split courses); second, moving from one course per block to two courses at a time for a seven-week, two-block period (parallel courses); and finally, establishing a testing center, where students would complete all assessments currently administered in the classroom The project questions for this study address costs and benefits of each initiative, the practices of peer institutions, meeting students’ needs, and academic calendar and course schedule options Through the use of existing literature, best practices from other institutions, and focus groups, conclusions and recommendations are formulated regarding each initiative From the focus groups, the major findings that resulted included that staff preferred the initiative to establish a central testing location for all student exams to the other two proposed changes Whereas the faculty completely opposed this idea Faculty, choosing from among the available options, sided with the introduction of the split courses on a voluntary basis only Neither the faculty nor staff groups chose parallel courses as the next (i.e to follow livinglearning communities) to implement, though the faculty participants were open to trying multi-block courses as an optional format Block Initiatives Introduction Tusculum College in Greeneville, Tennessee, the oldest college in the state, is one of only four higher education institutions in the United States that operate on a block schedule, with the defining feature of one course at a time in a shortened term The other three institutions that also use this academic calendar and course schedule are as follows: Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa, Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and the University of Montana Western in Dillon, Montana Cornell adopted the one course at a time (OCAAT) plan in 1978, while Colorado’s block schedule began earlier, in 1970 (Colorado College, 2009; Cornell College, 2009) The Block at Tusculum started later, in 1992 (Tusculum College, 2009) Most recently, public university Montana Western transitioned to the Experience One (X1) block schedule in 2004 (The University of Montana Western) In addition to the American examples, Quest University near Vancouver, British Columbia opened just a few years ago and operates classes on a block plan (Quest University, 2009) In an effort to improve the Block experience for students and faculty at Tusculum, the college has implemented one change so far and may implement others before 2014 The only initiative on the Tusculum College Strategic Plan 2009-2014 that is in effect today is known as 4.3 and involves living-learning communities, or cohorts, which the college introduced in 2008 and renewed on a permanent basis in 2009 The remaining initiatives that Tusculum may pilot and implement include parallel courses, split courses, and a testing center These proposed alterations to the Block are not necessarily bundled as three parts of one package, nor are they mutually exclusive Though the question remains, which, if any, Tusculum should adopt Proposed Initiatives Initiative 4.1: Provide the opportunity for students to take two compatible courses, simultaneously, over a seven-week (two blocks) period Initiative 4.2: Change current class scheduling to minimize challenge of maintaining academic engagement for three hours and to increase opportunities for student and faculty outside-of-class interaction Initiative 4.4: Reduce the pedagogical limitations of the block by capturing as much instructional time as possible in each class session by removing assessment and testing from class sessions Note: Tusculum has already implemented Initiative 4.3 Definition of the Issue The purpose of this study is to investigate Tusculum’s proposed strategic initiatives for the Block and make recommendations as to whether the college should implement any or all This study is at the request of a member of the senior leadership team at Tusculum in order to provide a research base and informed suggestions for Tusculum The primary research questions are as follows:  “What are the costs and benefits of the proposed strategic plan initiatives?” Block Initiatives   “Do the strategic initiatives meet the needs of our current students?” “Are there other initiatives that should be considered as part of the ‘block plan enhancement’ goal?” The secondary research questions, or subquestions, are as follows:    “What strategic initiatives among the three remaining delineated in the Strategic Plan would be the best one to pilot and implement next (following the Living-Learning Communities)?” “How have Colorado College and Cornell College changed their version of the Block, if at all, in order to manage student expectations and produce better learning outcomes?” “Other than the Block and the traditional semester calendar, what other academic calendars exist?” Contextual Analysis In part to answer the project question regarding Colorado and Cornell, and to properly consider each initiative charted above, it is important to lay the foundation that explores the Block at institutions similar to Tusculum The college’s primary peer institutions, as pertaining to course schedule and academic calendar, include Colorado College and Cornell College Both Colorado and Cornell preceded Tusculum in adopting a block format Since Tusculum’s adoption in 1994, two additional universities have joined their ranks: the University of Montana- Western also in the United States and Quest University in Canada Hiram College in Hiram, Ohio does not constitute a pure block format but does operate some courses in two three-week terms per year (Hiram College, 2009) To gather information regarding the other block plans, the data collection methods included website research for all the institutions, phone interviews with a faculty member from Colorado College and Cornell College, respectively, as well as articles and documents about Colorado The phone interviews were scheduled with the two interviewees via email and each conducted in one phone conversation, with the Colorado call on a separate day from Cornell A set of questions was formulated prior to the phone call; although the intention was to use these questions as a guide, so during the phone call the faculty member from each respective institution often spoke freely instead of as a response to a direct question Faculty members were informed via email as well as on the phone call that the researcher was conducting a project as a Vanderbilt University graduate student at Tusculum College regarding the Block The interview questions were utilized to provide direction (Appendix A) Colorado College Colorado College, one of four institutions in the United States that operates on a block system discovered in the 1970s that changing to a “modular plan” was possible (Brooks, 1969) The faculty at Colorado, the mother of the block, reexamined both academics and student life in the 1960s and arrived at the shortened term with only one course (Pope, 2007) A group of professors asked the question, “Why can’t the college give me 15 students and let me work just with them?” (Pope, 2007) That musing gave birth to the block Early on, considerations for the new block schedule included construction, registration and enrollment, space, and fixtures The idea of the block stemmed from a review Block Initiatives showing that students and faculty possessed conflicting demands and a lack of control over their own schedules The trial block plan included single courses, interdisciplinary courses (with two or three professors), and groups of “dissimilar courses of varying lengths” (Brooks, 1969) Today, Colorado offers some courses lasting two or three blocks each (Colorado College, 2009) Colorado’s faculty proposed three- six- and nine-week blocks of time, throughout the year, resulting in a 33-week calendar The concept was to offer one course at a time, with the professor setting the meeting times for his or her own course (Brooks, 1969) Some concern arose regarding courses such as the sciences, so modules of nine weeks were meant for courses “not amenable to intensive study” that needed more time (Brooks, 1969) A separate study suggests accelerated schedules may not be appropriate for upper-division classes (Daniel, 2000) The early block plan included half-courses, which met partially in the early morning and completed in the late morning (Brooks, 1969) Professors could teach two courses per block, or two sections of the same course Late afternoon and early evening sections included dance, choir, and others that were considered “adjunct courses.” Students could take half-time courses, such as dance and music, along with principle (main) courses Faculty would teach 30 out of 33 weeks, and students would attend class a total of 120 weeks to graduate (30 weeks per year) (Brooks, 1969) Despite some debate, Colorado’s faculty supported the new block schedule, also known as modular learning (Pope, 2007) In 2007, the college’s president, Richard Celeste, explained the reasons why more institutions have not boarded the block bandwagon: the expense of maintaining small classes (averaging 16 students) and of using 122 classrooms at one time for classes (Pope, 2007) Today, one perspective is that Colorado is reconsidering its model (Daniel, 2000) On the other hand, no one is calling for a complete makeover of the 40-year-old format, (Pope, 2007; Colorado faculty, personal communication, September 22, 2009) President Celeste says proof that the block works is evident in positive feedback from students and parents (Pope, 2007) Unlike Tusculum, where each class meets for three hours in the morning or afternoon for one block, Colorado offers some courses lasting two or three blocks each (Colorado College, 2009) In addition, faculty decide what time their courses will begin and end, so classes could meet in the morning or afternoon and for more than three hours (Colorado College, 2009) Despite this flexibility, the average class meets 9:00 a.m to 12:00 p.m (Colorado faculty, personal communication, September 22, 2009) Colorado also has half-block courses, which meet for 10 days, such as between the last block of the fall and the first block of the spring (Colorado College, 2009) Colorado’s enrollment reached 1,975 undergraduate students as of spring 2009 (Colorado College, 2010) The median ACT score for Colorado’s freshmen is 29 (the highest of all Block institutions) Colorado also boasts the highest graduation rate at 80.9% for both a four-year rate of the class of 2008 and a seven-year rate of the class of 2011 In academic year 2008-2009, 87% of Colorado’s freshmen graduated from high school in the top quarter of their class, while 67% graduated in the top 10% As of fall 2007, Colorado’s retention rate soared at Block Initiatives 94.1% Colorado’s tuition for 2009-2010 is listed as $37,278, and when room and board, books, and travel expenses add in, the price tag amounts to about $49,000 (Colorado College, 2010) Cornell College Cornell’s “One Course at a Time.” OCAAT serves as another example of the focused, block format (Cornell College) In 1978, the dean asked faculty to consider moving to the new calendar to increase the college’s attractiveness to students, increase its distinction, and for pedagogical advantages (Cornell faculty, personal communication, September 11, 2009) In the first vote, about a third of the faculty opposed the block calendar, and much tension played out during the first several years following OCAAT’s inception Some faculty left, because they did not like the format, but others converted Today, professors join Cornell’s faculty primarily due to OCCAT, and rarely is the schedule the reason faculty members leave (Cornell faculty) The faculty member who provided firsthand information about OCAAT has taught at Cornell for nearly 30 years, and had never taught in any other academic calendar before (Cornell faculty, personal communication, September 11, 2009) He says the faculty must be ready when the course starts, due to the block’s fast pace and lack of course preparation time throughout OCAAT encourages faculty to determine why and how they are grading as well as to become better at teaching and grading, because faculty cannot assign a 20-page research paper to be due by the end of the block Faculty, who teach six to nine blocks per year, may need to use their weekends to grade, but having a scoring rubric set up ahead of time helps to increase consistency across papers He says the only thing a professor thinks about is the one course he or she is teaching at any particular time, but adds that while it can be consuming “it’s fun” (Cornell faculty) Similar to parallel courses, students can take link courses, in an interdisciplinary approach to course scheduling but in separate blocks (Cornell faculty, personal communication, September 11, 2009) Cornell offers link courses for first-year sociology and geology courses, for example Students may take sociology in the first block and geology in the third, but both courses will focus on one theme (e.g consumption) (Cornell faculty) As with the parallel course option, few courses are offered as links Cornell experimented with offering interdisciplinary link courses in a parallel format, such as biology and psychology courses that deal with the common theme of cognition Each course would contain a different group of students, but the courses would “link,” or meet as a combined class at certain points throughout one block Cornell is looking to take this approach with its environmental studies program (Cornell faculty) As with Colorado and Tusculum, each course (other than parallel courses) meets for three and one half weeks, with a four-day break between However, whereas Tusculum’s courses meet for three hours in the morning or afternoon, and Colorado’s courses meet whenever the faculty would like, Cornell’s professors teach half of the class 9:00 to 11:00 a.m and the other half in the afternoons from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m (Cornell College, 2009) Each course totals four credits, as is common with block programs Cornell’s calendar is comprised of four blocks in the fall, four in the spring, and one in May, with no summer classes (Cornell Block Initiatives College, 2009) The summer provides time for students to go home, work, travel, and volunteer Benefits of OCAAT include study abroad and internships, as such travel takes place within one block and does not interfere with any other courses The students enjoy that they not have to worry about other courses while on trips In addition, the faculty speak highly of the immersion into one subject at a time as well as the high level of faculty-student interaction afforded by OCAAT (Cornell College, 2009) For academic year 2008-2009, Cornell’s full-time enrolled undergraduates reached 1,111 students (Cornell College, 2009) The retention rate for the same year, from freshman to sophomore years, was 82%, about 14% below Colorado Their six-year graduation rate is 71%, almost 10% lower than Colorado’s four- and seven-year rates Cornell’s class of 2012 came to college with an average ACT of 26, lower than Colorado’s students, and average GPA of 3.44 Students pay $35,000 per academic year in tuition, and including room and board as well as books and travel expenses, the total price of attendance amounts to about $45,000 (Cornell College, 2010) The University of Montana Western The University of Montana Western arrived at the block party somewhat later than Cornell and Tusculum In 1987, the University of Montana merged with Western Montana College to create an institution temporarily named Western Montana College of the University of Montana The Board of Regents approved its renaming to the University of Montana Western in 2001 Just a few years later, in fall 2004, the university piloted Experience One (X1) for all first-time freshmen A full campus conversion to X1 began in fall 2005, and the university continues to operate on a block calendar today (The University of Montana Western, 2009) As with Tusculum, Montana Western’s block plan, Experience One operates as one course at a time for 18 days for three hours per day (The University of Montana Western, 2009) Also, in common with Tusculum, students at Montana Western take a four-day break between blocks Each course results in four credits for students, and four blocks fill one semester As seen with Colorado, most classes have 16 or fewer students, and the largest classes contain only 30 The 1,154 undergraduate students at Montana Western (as of 20082009) take four blocks in the fall and spring, respectively, with three summer blocks (Montana Western, 2009) However, in addition to 18-day courses, students may also take full semester (or, multi-block) classes during the fall, spring, and summer (Montana Western, 2009) Students engage in “authentic workforce activities” instead of lecture, that Montana Western administration hope will give their students an edge in the workforce and graduate school (Montana Western, 2009) Other advantages of X1’s block format include the attention and assistance provided by professors, because each professor concentrates on one group of students per block In addition, students participate in experiential, innovative, and interdisciplinary learning experiences afforded by the intensive format of X1 (Montana Western, 2009) Montana Western’s tuition for freshmen and sophomores is $1,401, while it is $1,953.60 for juniors and seniors, each in addition to room ($1,090) and board ($1,665) (Montana Western, 2010) The average GPA of the freshmen, who can study one of 90 different Block Initiatives academic areas, is 3.0, but only 21% graduated in the top 25% of their high school class Montana Western’s freshman to sophomore retention rate was 65% as of fall 2009 Although that is as much as 20% lower than the other Block institutions, U.S News and World Report ranked the institution eighteenth in western baccalaureate-granting colleges (Montana Western, 2010) Quest University Quest University, located near Vancouver, British Columbia, acts as the Canadian sister to Colorado, Cornell, Tusculum, and Montana Western Following the common theme, students in Quest’s block plan take one class at a time for three hours a day and three and one half weeks (Quest University, 2009) As with Montana Western, Quest’s calendar includes four blocks per term However, unlike the others, Quest University, the block institution in Canada, does not offer courses lasting longer than one block period Students at Quest take only three-and-a-half week courses (Quest University, 2009) Montana Western and Quest are the two newest institutions to offer one course every 18 days as a regular academic calendar Quest’s block plan advantages appear very similar to those espoused by the American block institutions The block provides opportunities for field trips and outdoor experiential learning as well as off-campus internships Students focus on one subject at a time, as with other block colleges, which promotes immersion and engagement In addition, students participate in small-group work in breakout rooms, instead of sitting through three hours of lecture per day (Quest University, 2009) As with Colorado, Cornell, and Tusculum, Quest is a private institution Whereas students at Montana Western take three blocks during the summer, students at Quest enroll in only two (Quest University, 2009) Quest’s Foundation Program composes the first two years of students’ college careers, with 16 required courses taken over four terms, with multiple blocks per term In the first term, students take Cornerstone during the first block, and by the last block of the fourth term, they enroll in Your Question During the first two years of courses, each student formulates his or her research question and proceeds to investigate and answer it during years three and four (Quest University, 2009) Quest, which just opened in 2002, by far the youngest of the Block institutions, enrolls 142 students, but is growing toward its maximum capacity of 800 Tuition costs $25,000 per academic year plus $8,000 for room and board (Quest University, 2010) Hiram College While Hiram is not considered to the extent of the other institutions for the purposes of this study, it is worth noting due to its modified block Students at Hiram engage in two three-week blocks per year, as the college divides regular semesters into a 12week term and three-week term (Hiram College, 2009) During the short term, students take one course for four days per week, instead of five at the block institutions, for three to four hours per day Students may also use their three weeks for internships and travel courses Hiram’s enrollment sets at 1,200 undergraduates with 31 percent of freshmen coming from the top 10 percent of their high school class (Hiram College, 2010) Tusculum College Block Initiatives Tusculum College’s 2010-2011 tuition price, including room and board, is posted as $27,920 per year, a sticker price less than Colorado, Cornell, and Quest (Tusculum College, 2010) Also, 97% of Tusculum students receive some form of financial aid In 2008, 800 traditional undergraduates attended Tusculum The average ACT score sets at 22 (lower than both Colorado College and Cornell College) The students’ average high school GPA is 3.3, lower than Cornell but higher than the University of Montana Western (Tusculum College, 2010) Data Collection and Analysis This project used focus groups, in addition to an investigation of the literature, as the research method to answer the primary questions:      “What are the costs and benefits of the proposed strategic plan initiatives?” “Do the strategic initiatives meet the needs of our current students?” “Are there other initiatives that should be considered as part of the ‘block plan enhancement’ goal?” as well as two of the three subquestions: “What strategic initiatives among the four delineated in the Strategic Plan would be the best one to pilot and implement next (following the Living-Learning Communities)?” “Other than the Block and the traditional semester calendar, what other academic calendars exist?” The site coordinator for this project at Tusculum suggested the data collection method of focus groups for this study It was determined that the best groups to interview in a focus group style would be faculty and staff in order to ascertain their thoughts and feelings about the strategic initiatives for the Block Focus groups, as a qualitative method in which a small group of people are asked open-ended questions, have become increasingly utilized (Patton, 2002) Focus groups allow the researcher to hear first-hand about the real-life circumstances around the project questions Although, focus groups are generally conducted on homogenous groups, they also can show if any differences of opinion or varying perspectives exist among different people experiencing the same environment or situation (Patton, 2002) Focus group questions are arranged around one topic, in this case, the proposed initiatives to enhance the Block at Tusculum (Patton, 2002) Individual groups typically not exceed 10 participants, and one session lasts one to two hours A focus group session is basically an interview, but it takes into account that people function in a social setting with others Participants can comment or build on what their peers say during the meeting, instead of answering questions one-on-one in an interview The purpose of a focus group is to gather quality information in a social setting, and those involved can either agree or disagree with one another without consequence (Patton, 2002) Focus groups serve as a respectable research method for several reasons They are efficient in terms of time and money, as the researcher can speak with several people in a short period of time (Patton, 2002) The group’s interaction yields richer responses than perhaps in one-on-one interviews The researcher should be able to ascertain whether group members agree or disagree and identify trends across responses Block Initiatives 10 However, limitations include needing to restrict the number of questions based on time allotted In addition, individuals’ comments may be hindered in order to allow time for other participants to speak (Patton, 2002) For this study, faculty and staff each answered a separate interview protocol list of questions, but much overlap between the question sets existed (Appendix B) For both groups, the protocol sections included the following: Baseline, Costs and Benefits, Current Students’ Needs, Other Initiatives, Next to Implement, and Alternative Calendar Faculty answered a greater number of questions than did staff in the Costs and Benefits and Next to Implement areas, because they are better equipped to respond to inquiries regarding course preparation, in-class experiences, and instruction After receiving approval from Vanderbilt University’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) and Tusculum College’s Associate Provost for Academic Affairs (she did not deem that the proposal required forwarding to the IRB), plans to organize focus groups moved forward To solicit volunteers for the focus groups, the provost sent an email (Appendix C) to all faculty and staff with Tusculum email addresses requesting they participate on a voluntary basis The email also included information concerning the location as well as time slots available for faculty and staff groups The goal was to keep the faculty and staff in separate sessions in accordance with the interview protocols The site coordinator’s office scheduled the volunteers in groups according to specific times On the day of the focus groups, each participant was given a consent form by the principal investigator (Appendix D) with a place to check whether he or she agreed to audio recording during the session as well as a signature line Copies of the consent forms were made available to each faculty and staff member before the departed from the room The focus group participants were arranged into two faculty groups and two staff ones The self-reported ages of the focus group respondents ranged from 25 to 65 Overall, two participants were in their twenties, seven thirties, five in their forties, three in their fifties, five sixties, and one person who specified “over 21.” One respondent wrote down “6-,” and could possibly be over age 65, the oldest age reported The first time slot (9:00 a.m.) belonged to faculty, and included five people (two females, and three males) One male checked the box on the consent form that he did not permit the session to be audio recorded, so this focus group session was not recorded At 11:00 a.m., the first staff group met and included five females and three males All members consented to voice recording, so this session was taped The third focus group of the day was scheduled for staff, and several people had signed up for this time slot However, only one staff person came at the appointed time, so she left and returned later to join in with the faculty focus group It is unclear as to why none of the other staff members for the 1:00 p.m meeting did not come, although participants in the following faculty focus group expressed some confusion over the email they had received with details about the meeting times The last focus group of the day met at 3:00 p.m and included nine faculty members and one staff member (from the 1:00 staff group) It should be noted that the investigator assumes the participants in this group were indeed faculty members as planned; they were not questioned regarding Block Initiatives 51 a Did you work at Tusculum before the Block? (If so, please describe the difference(s) between pre-Block and current Tusculum b Were any of you ever a student at Tusculum? c How many years have you worked here? d Describe how you feel about your job at Tusculum e How would you describe the Block at Tusculum? f What, if any, are the positives of the Block the way it is currently operating? g In what ways, if any, has the Block changed since you began working at Tusculum? h Are you aware of initiatives to alter the Block? If so, list the proposed initiatives you have heard of Costs and benefits a In what ways, if at all, you think the initiative to “take two compatible courses, simultaneously, over a seven-week period” would affect how you feel about your job at Tusculum? b How, if at all, would this initiative cost you financially? c In what ways, if at all, you think the initiative to “move current class scheduling…to meeting ½ hours in the morning and ½ hours in the afternoon for 18 days” would affect how you feel about your job at Tusculum? d How, if at all, would this initiative cost you financially? e In what ways, if at all, you think the initiative to remove assessment from class sessions and develop a Testing Center would affect how you feel about your job at Tusculum? f How, if at all, would this initiative cost you financially? Current students’ needs a Which, if any, of these initiatives meets the needs of Tusculum’s current students? (Two courses in seven weeks, One course split between morning and afternoon in the Block, Testing Center.) Which one(s) and how? b Which ones, if any, not meet the needs of Tusculum’s current students? (Two courses in seven weeks, One course split between morning and afternoon in the Block, Testing Center.) Why not? Other initiatives a What initiative(s) would you add to the list with these three, if you would add any? b What initiative(s), if any, among these three would you remove from consideration? Next to implement a After the cohort living-learning communities, which initiative would you like to see implemented next, if any? Why? b Is there some other initiative you would like to see implemented next instead of one of these three? Alternative calendar a What academic calendar (other than the current Block, the seven-week period, or the traditional semester), if any, have you heard of or read about? Please describe b What academic calendar would you recommend for Tusculum and why? Please describe that calendar Faculty Baseline a Did you work at Tusculum before the Block? (If so, please describe the difference(s) between pre-Block and current Tusculum b Were any of you ever a student at Tusculum? c How many years have you worked here? d Describe how you feel about your position at Tusculum e How would you describe the Block at Tusculum? f What, if any, are the positives of the Block the way it is currently operating? Block Initiatives 52 g In what ways, if any, has the Block changed since you began your academic appointment at Tusculum? h Are you aware of initiatives to alter the Block? If so, list the proposed initiatives you have heard of Costs and benefits a In what ways, if at all, you think the initiative to “take two compatible courses, simultaneously, over a seven-week period” would affect how you feel about your position at Tusculum? g If Tusculum enacted the initiative of “two compatible courses, simultaneously, over a seven-week period,” how would that change your course preparation? Classroom instruction? h If Tusculum enacted the initiative of “two compatible courses, simultaneously, over a seven-week period,” would you consider leaving your academic appointment at Tusculum? Would you leave? b How, if at all, would this initiative cost you financially? c In what ways, if at all, you think the initiative to “move current class scheduling…to meeting ½ hours in the morning and ½ hours in the afternoon for 18 days” would affect how you feel about your position at Tusculum? i If Tusculum enacted the initiative to “move current class scheduling…to meeting ½ hours in the morning and ½ hours in the afternoon for 18 days,” how would that change your course preparation? Classroom instruction? j If Tusculum enacted the initiative to “move current class scheduling…to meeting 1/2 hours in the morning and ½ hours in the afternoon for 18 days,” would you consider leaving your academic appointment at Tusculum? Would you leave? d How, if at all, would this initiative cost you financially? e In what ways, if at all, you think the initiative to remove assessment from class sessions and develop a Testing Center would affect how you feel about your position at Tusculum? k If Tusculum enacted the initiative to remove assessment from class sessions and develop a Testing Center how would that change your course preparation? Classroom instruction? l If Tusculum enacted the initiative to remove assessment from class sessions and develop a Testing Center would you consider leaving your academic appointment at Tusculum? Would you leave? f How, if at all, would this initiative cost you financially? Current students’ needs a Which, if any, of these initiatives meets the needs of Tusculum’s current students? (Two courses in seven weeks, One course split between morning and afternoon in the Block, Testing Center.) Which one(s) and how? b Which ones, if any, not meet the needs of Tusculum’s current students? (Two courses in seven weeks, One course split between morning and afternoon in the Block, Testing Center.) Why not? Other initiatives a What initiative(s) would you add to the list with these three, if you would add any? b What initiative(s), if any, among these three would you remove from consideration? Next to implement a After the cohort living-learning communities, which initiative would you like to see implemented next, if any? Why? c Do you think “students will have more time for distributive practice in conceptdense coursework” with the initiative to “take two compatible classes simultaneously over a seven week period?” Why or why not? d Do you think the initiative meeting for class ½ hours in the morning and 1-½ hours in the afternoon would “minimize Block Initiatives 53 challenge of maintaining academic engagement…and increase opportunities for student and faculty outside-of-class interaction? Why or why not? e Do you think you will have “more instructional time within the classroom because of testing…having been removed” and placed in a Testing Center? Why or why not? b Is there some other initiative you would like to see implemented next instead of one of these three? Alternative calendar a What academic calendar (other than the current Block, the seven-week period, or the traditional semester), if any, have you heard of or read about? Please describe b What academic calendar would you recommend for Tusculum and why? Please describe that calendar Appendix D Consent Form Vanderbilt University Institutional Review Board Informed Consent Document for Research Block Initiatives 54 Principal Investigator: Teresa Bagamery Clark Revision Date: 10-20-09 Study Title: Strategic Initiatives for Block Enhancement Institution/Hospital: Tusculum College of This informed consent document applies to adults Name of participant: _ Age: The following information is provided to inform you about the research project and your participation in it Please read this form carefully and feel free to ask any questions you may have about this study and the information given below You will be given an opportunity to ask questions, and your questions will be answered Also, you will be given a copy of this consent form PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: The purpose of this study is to investigate Tusculum College’s proposed strategic initiatives for enhancing the Block and make recommendations on implementation WHAT WE WILL ASK YOU TO DO: You are being asked to participate in a focus group that may result in one or more of Tusculum’s strategic initiatives being implemented You will not be asked to provide any identifying information; I will use pseudonyms in my notes as well as in my paper The focus groups may last up to 90 minutes I will audiotape the focus groups if all participants agree to be voice-recorded Please indicate below whether you agree or disagree to being voice-recorded: Agree to voice-recording Disagree to voice recording EXPECTED COSTS: There are no costs to participate in the study RISKS OF PARTICIPATION: There are minimal to no risks associated with this study; however, you may find taking the time to participate an inconvenience BENEFITS OF PARTICIPATION: a) The potential benefits include improving the Block for students, faculty, and staff Specific improvements may include new class times, pairing complementary courses over two blocks, and/or centralizing student assessment However, there may be no direct benefits to the participants COMPENSATION: Participants will not be compensated, but the Provost will provide refreshments VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION: Your participation in the study is completely voluntary You may refuse to participate, or you may stop participating at any time and for any reason, without any penalty If you would like to withdraw from the Block Initiatives 55 Date of IRB Approval: 10-21-2009 Date of IRB Expiration: 10-20-2010 Vanderbilt University Institutional Review Board Informed Consent Document for Research Principal Investigator: Teresa Bagamery Clark Revision Date: 10-20-09 Study Title: Strategic Initiatives for Block Enhancement Institution/Hospital: Tusculum College of study, please tell Teresa Bagamery Clark (teresa.b.clark@vanderbilt.edu) or 615-4955093 If you choose to withdraw, we will not use any data collected from you prior to your withdrawal WHOM TO CONTACT If you should have any questions about this research study or possibly injury, please feel free to contact Teresa Bagamery Clark at 615-495-5093 or her Faculty Advisor, Dr John Braxton at 615-322-8021 For additional information about giving consent or your rights as a participant in this study, please feel free to contact the Vanderbilt University Institutional Review Board Office at (615) 322-2918 or toll free at (866) 224-8273 STATEMENT BY PERSON AGREEING TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS STUDY I have read this informed consent document and the material contained in it has been explained to me verbally All my questions have been answered, and I freely and voluntarily choose to participate in this study under the conditions outlined above I also acknowledge that I have received a copy of this form CONFIDENTIALITY: Other participants in your focus group will know how you answer questions While I will discourage anyone from sharing this information outside of the group, I cannot guarantee confidentiality by other focus group members I will our best to keep all of your personal information private and Date Signature of volunteer confidential but absolute confidentiality cannot be guaranteed Your information may be shared with institutional and/or governmental Consent obtained by: authorities, such as the Vanderbilt University Date Signature Institutional Review Board; if you or someone else is in danger or if we are required to so by law I will Printed Name and Title maintain the audiotapes until my advisor and program at Date of IRB Approval: 10-21-2009 Vanderbilt satisfactorily accept the final paper At that time, Date of IRB Expiration: 10-20-20 I will destroy the tapes Appendix E Matrices Block Initiatives 56 Project Questions by Initiative 4.1 4.2 4.4 Costs and Benefits X X X Students’ Needs X X X Other Initiatives Next Initiative X X X Other Blocks Other Calendars X Project Questions by Focus Group Questions Costs and Benefits a-l Students’ Needs a-b Other Initiatives a-b Next Initiatives a-e Other Blocks Other Calendars a-b Initiatives by Focus Group Questions 4.1 a-b g-h 5c 4.2 c-d i-j 5d 4.4 e-f k-l 5e Project Questions by Methods Focus Groups Phone Calls Websites/Email Literature Costs and Benefits X X Students’ Needs X X Other Initiatives X X X Other Blocks X X X Other Calendars X X Appendix F Baseline The purpose of the first section of focus group questions served to establish a Block Initiatives 57 foundation, or baseline, to understand the participants in terms of experience with the Block and time at Tusculum For example, it was important to know if someone felt negatively about the Block before continuing with questions concerning changing the Block, as preexisting sentiments may affect other answers This group of questions explored how many years the focus group participants had worked at Tusculum, whether any of them had been a student there, and their feelings about the Block One female staff member indicated she had formerly been a student at Tusculum but graduated in 1991, before the Block began She participated in a focus group pertaining to the Block before its implementation, and later completed an internship in the Block format A male staff member had worked at Salem International University (Salem, West Virginia), which he called a block system Salem International’s courses run one course per month, and students begin a new course each month (Salem International University) While this closely resembles the Block, it does not align as closely as institutions such as Colorado College and Cornell College A female faculty member said she had worked in the Registrar’s Office before the Block began and suggested the office became busier with the 18-classday schedule compared to a traditional semester calendar Another faculty member had been a student at Tusculum for two years on the semesterschedule and completed a master’s degree at Tusculum with courses in a six-week schedule, one class meeting per week Staff members who participated in the focus groups indicated their years of service at Tusculum as such: for the men; 20, three, and two years, and for the women; 15, 10, five, seven and a half, nine and a half, and six years The faculty participants stated they had each worked at Tusculum, respectively: 25, 23, 20, 15 and a half, 15, 13, seven, two people for six and a half years, six, five, and two people for four years The faculty groups included a total of five males and nine females Overall, eight men and 15 women participated in the focus groups Members of the focus groups were asked how they feel about their job or position at Tusculum as well as how they would describe the Block Both faculty and staff, generally, spoke positively about their role as well as the Block Common answers included “I enjoy” what I and working here is “rewarding” but “busy.” The groups, overall, expressed positive sentiments concerning the Block They saw the Block’s advantages in providing “hands-on experience” and “off-campus opportunities.” They said the Block is “unique,” “the number one reason students come,” and “a good recruitment tool.” There was definitely a hesitation among focus group participants to enact too many alterations to the Block One faculty member, recognizing the Block as the primary recruitment driver cautioned that the administration be “careful before throwing the baby out with the bathwater” by changing the Block Another said, “I would hate to see us move away from the Block entirely.” A staff person commented, “Students love the Block.” However, some negative comments accompanied the staff and faculty’s praise of the Block Members expressed frustration at how “challenging” the Block is for them In particular, the Block was cited as posing a challenge for business, science, and fine arts classes Respondents indicated the schedule Block Initiatives 58 required students to complete a large amount of class work in a short period of time, and staff thought the Block was “labor-intensive for the faculty.” Focus group participants also cited that the Block is “resourceintensive” for such areas as physical space and computer bandwidth However, one staff member said, “The system is as good as it’s going to get.” Financial resource constraints were also reported in regards to off-campus trips Whereas the staff noted an increase in outof-class opportunities, the faculty suggested off-campus travel had decreased since the Block first began due to transportation and costs All of the focus group volunteers expressed an awareness of the strategic initiatives posed for Block enhancement, but one male faculty member said it was his first time seeing “some” of the initiatives Two female faculty members shared that they worked on the strategic planning committee that proposed the initiatives Appendix G Other measures, gleaned from the literature, that Tusculum may wish to consider:  School Pride Wednesdays: At Western State College in Colorado, Block Initiatives 59 classes not meet before 2:00 p.m on Wednesdays, when the college provides activities to students for “Western Wednesdays.” (Cash et al, 1993)  Lunch Hour Activities: From a study conducted by the Los Rios Community College District, to prevent a possible decline in student activities on the compressed calendar, colleges recommend building activities into a common lunch hour (Beachler, 2003)  Three-Year Degree: At Southern New Hampshire University, students can effectively save a year of tuition payments and graduate in three years without needing to take summer, night, or weekend courses Manchester College, however, does use two summers of web courses called “Fast Forward” to speed its students along (Carlson and Lipka, 2009)  Stress Management Program: Research was conducted on a blockstyle accounting class, lasting three hours per day for three weeks A marginal difference occurred in the increased stress exhibited in the compressed calendar (Howell and Johnson, 1982) science (Altieri and Cygnar, 1997) Cy-Fair utilizes an interdisciplinary office arrangement for faculty to collaborate across disciplines; for example, traditional departments are not clustered together in wings, rather an English professor may sit next to a business professor next to a science professor, and so on (Ashburn, 2006) References  Cross-Disciplinary Learning: Washtenaw Community College in Ann Arbor, Michigan provides “cross-disciplinary” studies among the arts and humanities, natural sciences, technology, and social Aguilar, S (2004) A study on the efficacy of compressed scheduling formats in higher education Ed.D dissertation, University of La Verne, CA Retrieved from ProQuest Block Initiatives 60 Altieri, G and Cygnar, P.M (1997) A new model for general education in associate's degree programs: Developing and teaching a core across the curriculum Community College Review, 25, 3-19 Retrieved from Wilson Web Angrist, J., Lang, D., and Oreopoulos, P (2005) Lead them to water and pay them to drink: An experiment with services and incentives for college 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pedagogic practice Higher Education, 45(4), 477-501 Springer Retrieved from JSTOR Young, J (2001) Texas colleges collaborate to offer online students convenient proctored tests The Chronicle of Higher Education, 47(26), A43 Retrieved from Wilson Web ... “What are the costs and benefits of the proposed strategic plan initiatives? ” Block Initiatives   “Do the strategic initiatives meet the needs of our current students?” “Are there other initiatives. . .Block Initiatives Analysis of the Strategic Initiatives for the Block at Tusculum College Executive Summary Tusculum College in Greeneville, Tennessee has operated on the ? ?Block, ” an... investigation of the literature, as the research method to answer the primary questions:      “What are the costs and benefits of the proposed strategic plan initiatives? ” “Do the strategic initiatives