Teaching Noncredit Courses at Ohlone

WHAT IS NONCREDIT AND HOW DOES IT WORK?

LCW-Spring 20201:00 PM – 2:00 PM

Presenter: Sheida Parvasi

BREAKING THE ICE!

PLEASE ANSWER EACH “PRE-PRESENTATION” POLL QUESTION.

TYPES OF COURSES

Type Purpose Additional Details

Degree-applicable and nondegree-applicable courses

Degree or Certificate

Articulate with baccalaureate institutionsApply to ADTs Agree with C-ID descriptors when applicable

Noncredit coursesCollege Preparation and Career Development

Enhanced funding available for certain noncredit categories

Not-for-credit courses Fee-based Community Service/Education

No apportionmentSelf-supporting

Contract Education (not a type of course but an offering)

Education/training that is paid for by a business or organization

No apportionmentRestricted enrollmentMay offer credit, noncredit, and not-for-credit

Differences Between Noncredit and Credit Courses

NONCREDIT Certificates of Completion and Competency

Generates two levels of apportionment (noncredit and enhanced noncredit); no student fees

Enhanced noncredit = Career Development and College Preparation (CDCP)

No units

Repeatable

Limited to 10 categories

Approval: Curriculum Committee, Governing Board, Chancellor’s Office

CREDIT Degrees and Certificates of Achievement

Generates apportionment; student fees apply

Degree applicable and non-degree applicable

Unit bearing

Not repeatable (with exceptions)

Approval: Curriculum Committee, Governing Board, Chancellor’s Office

INTRODUCTIONWHAT IS NONCREDIT?

FIRST, THERE IS NO HYPHEN IN

NON-CREDIT!

Noncredit Background And Benefits Outline

Evolved first from an adult school in California in 1865.

It is an important contributor to “open access” within the CCC system.

Offers students access to a variety of low and no-cost courses.

Often serve as a first point of entry for those who are underserved, as well as a transition pointto prepare students for credit instruction and the workforce.

Courses focus on skill attainment.

Flexible course scheduling and open entry/exit options.

Most College offer noncredit supervised tutoring.

Noncredit resources:Program and Course Approval Handbook (PCAH)

Publications by The Academic Senate For California Community Colleges (ASCCC)

10 Noncredit Categories (5 CCR § 58160)

# Category Title Description1 Elementary And Secondary Basic Skills reading, math, language arts2 English As A Second Language including vocational ESL3 Short-term Vocational high employment potential4 Workforce Preparation basic skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing, math,

decision making, problem solving skills,5 Citizenship For Immigrants6 Parenting parent cooperative preschools, courses in child growth

and development and parent-child relationships

7 Substantial Disabilities8 Older Adults9 Home Economics

10 Health And Safety Education

Career Development and College Preparation (CDCP)

CDCP Enhanced Funding Categories ESL

Math and English Basic Skills

Short-term Vocational

Workforce Preparation

Courses must be Chancellor’s Office approved PRIOR to sending a CDCP certificate for approval. Noncredit Certificate of Completion (career development)

Noncredit Certificate of Competency (college preparation)

NONCREDIT OPPORTUNITIES AND DRAWBACKS

OPTIONS WITH NONCREDIT

Grading Options – Grades are not reflected in student’s GPA

No Grade

Standard letter grades or Pass/No Pass

Progress Indicators (Satisfactory Progress)

Enrollment Options Open Entry/ Open Exit

Managed Enrollment

Unlimited Repeatability Options

BENEFITS TO STUDENTS

Noncredit is FREE! (No enrollment fees/ tuition)

Does not use up financial aid

No 30-unit basic skills limit – no wasted units

Outreach to new populations – accessible to nearly all students

Provide academic support for credit classes

Bridge from Adult School or High School to educational or career pathways

Focus on skill attainment, not grades or units

Access to counseling and matriculation services

WHO IS THE NONCREDIT STUDENT?

Often the neediest, most underserved members of our community

Wide range of goals

Generally attempting to gain skills needed for: Personal and family

Employment

Educational transition, pre-collegiate skills

OPPORTUNITIES FOR FACULTY

Create and innovate new courses to meet student needs

Courses have immediate positive impact on students’ lives and communities

Create targeted learning modules for students

More freedom to tailor course curriculum

POTENTIAL DRAWBACKS

Students Financial Aid and International students need to carry a minimum

number of units and noncredit courses will not count toward this

Extra work for students but no credit awarded

Faculty Positive attendance accounting may take more time for faculty/staff

to complete

Difference in service credit between credit and noncredit (STRS)

Noncredit faculty do not contribute to the FON

Some aspects of compensation still to be negotiated

MYTHS AND MISCONCEPTIONS

Noncredit is LOWER QUALITY than credit coursework!

The noncredit approval process ensures that “noncredit students receive the same

quality of instruction provided to other students” (PCAH)

Course Outline of Record (COR) must be submitted and approved by Curriculum

Committee and the state.

Noncredit does not involve homework or academic rigor!

In some cases, noncredit courses share the similar COR and syllabus and are taught

by the same instructor.

Considerations - Noncredit Courses

Materials fees may be charged Noncredit courses may require textbooks, but many colleges consider no- and low-cost

alternatives

Options for No/low cost course material OER, Lending library, Using grant and categorical funding (SEA, CAEP, SWF, etc)

Noncredit faculty face unique challenges an open-entry/open exit class environment

Varying gaps in the academic knowledge of adult students

OHLONE’S PLANS FOR NONCREDIT

Do we have any Noncredit Courses?

DEPARTMENTS # CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION

# CERTIFICATE OF COMPETENCY COURSES

Business Administration (BA) 3 4

Business and Supervision Management (BSM) 1 2

Computer Applications and Office Technology (CAOT) 1 9

Computer Networking & Emerging Technologies (CNET) 1 2

Customer Service Academy (CA) 3 11

Engineering (ENGI) 1 2

Mathematic (MATH) 2 5

English as a Second Language (ESL) 1 8

Multimedia (MM) 2 10

Noncredit Fast Fact Spring 2020

ENROLLMENT SPRING 2020 #End-of-Course Students (Unduplicated) 169

End-of-Course Students 291

Full-Time Equivalent Students (FTES) 10

Supervised Tutoring FTES 9

Certificate Awarded 17

Section offered 15

ENROLLMENT SPRING 2020 %Student Course Completion 82

Enrolled in Credit and Noncredit 19

Next term credit enrollment 2

TOP ENROLLED COURSES Legal Aspects of Small Business

Writing Skills for Managers

Communication in the Workplace

Noncredit Categories # of COURSES OFFERED in SP20

Workforce Preparation 1Short-term Vocational 6English as a Second Language 4Basic Skills N/A

Research & Academic Affairs, 7/13/20Source: IR and Emily Burns

Our Noncredit Students' Distribution

African American, 19,

9%

Asian, 110, 54%

Latinx, 25, 12%

White, 20, 10%

Filipino, 6, 3%

Multi-ethnic, 6, 3%

Pacific Islander, 1,

0%

Unknown, 18, 9%

STUDENT AGE DISTRIBUTION %

Over 40 years old 48

Between 20 – 39 46

Under 19 years old 6

GENDER %

Female 69

Male 31

Research & Academic Affairs, 7/13/20Source: IR and Emily Burns

Spring 2020 enrolment student ethnicity distribution

WHERE TO START

Have A Course In Mind?

FIND OUT WHAT’S OUT THERE

COCI 2.0 (https://coci2.ccctechcenter.org/)

A – English as a Second LanguageB – Citizenship for ImmigrantsC – Elementary and Secondary Basic SkillsD – Health & SafetyE – Courses for Persons with Substantial DisabilitiesF – ParentingG – Home EconomicsH – Courses for Older AdultsI – Short Term VocationalJ – Workforce Preparation

Select the Category

Who’s Doing What?

Noncredit: A Tool in Your Toolbelt

Goal: Develop curriculum based on identifying the needs of students.

Not just a progression from noncredit to credit. Many credit students

take noncredit classes

Students may need more than 16-18 weeks to learn new skill

Original Competency Based Learning program

Time is the variable until mastery is achieved

Students can have repeated enrollment in course.

Progress is measured, P, (SP), NP

Why would my college need noncredit courses?

The Public Policy Institute of California recently did a study (2020) of the graduation of high

school-age students. The typical multi-year decline in CA persists over a decade or more and

is greater than 20 percent. (Public Policy Institute of California, 2020)

Student Success Funding formula -100% of funding based on FTES

Students may have gaps in education and want more preparation before accessing financial

aid and starting credit programs

Gap analysis of introductory courses

What is different in designing a noncredit course curriculum?

Ten allowed category

Outcomes-based design Learning outcomes determine the number of course hours.

Range of hours is permissible.

Design with the end in mind

There is no distinction between lecture and lab hours

Think outside traditional term lengths

Design for a broad, diverse student population

What is different about designing a noncredit course curriculum?

All noncredit courses will be assigned a course number in the 900s

Approval process for noncredit courses are the same as those for credit courses.

Curriculum Committee Review and Approval

District Governing Board (Local Approval)

Chancellor’s Office Approval

Thinking about Creating a Noncredit Course or Program?

Developing Workforce Development and Short-term Vocational courses and programs should help

Increases workforce ready students - High Employment potential

Significant benefit to the surrounding businesses

Consists of a course of study, or an organized sequence of courses leading to a vocational/career

technical objective, certificate or award that is directly related to employment

Meets a documented labor market demand

Does not duplicate other employment training programs in the area

Can measure employability and completion success of students

Getting Labor Market Information (LMI)

Noncredit Career Technical Education (CTE), Short Term Vocational and Workforce Preparation

Programs:

Need for the program must be documented by supplying current labor market

information (LMI)

Sara Goldware, Director, Strong Workforce & Career Pathways

College Preparation Noncredit Courses Curriculum:

Need is presumed to exist if there is a student demand for a program and its transition to

credit work has been documented.

Course Outline Of Record (COR)

Noncredit Course Outlines of Record will be submitted and maintained within CurricUNET.

Noncredit courses will follow the same course review schedule as the discipline within

which the course has been placed.

Noncredit COR Requirements (Title 5 § 55002)Course Number and Title (900s Series) Course Content

Catalog Description Homework

Total Hours of Instruction Evaluation (Grade optional)

Objectives Materials Fee

TOP code/SAM Code Special Characteristics

Total Contact Hours Justification of Need

Noncredit Eligibility Category Class Schedule Description

Part of Program/Certificate

From Noncredit To Credit

Providing a Guided Pathway for Noncredit Students seeking transition into Credit programs

Career and academic counseling

Financial aid services

Academic support including tutoring

Supportive Services such as CalWORKs, CAEP, EOPS and DSPS

TEACHING NONCREDIT CLASSES AT OHLONE

What is different about teaching noncredit classes?

More students are intrinsically motivated

Individualized instruction

Stronger sense of mentoring/coaching relationship between instructor

and students

Each student potentially on a different timeline, working at a different

speed

Integrated student support

Instructors help with tasks like registering and connecting to campus

services while also helping advise students

Individualized instruction allows for individual assistance and support

Tips for Noncredit Faculty

What to do before the class starts

Welcome students to the course

Include the address (link for Zoom), date and time of the class

First day of the class

Adding and Registering Any student who is not on your roster

Classroom management

Recording Attendance - Every ¼ hour counts

Where to get more and updated info?

Ohlone Noncredit Webpage: https://www.ohlone.edu/noncredit

Who to contact: noncredit@ohlone.edu

Noncredit Coordinator: Sheida Parvasi Noncredit Executive Dean: Andrew Lamanque Career Education Coordinator: Emily Burns

IMPROVING ACCESS = SUCCESS FOR ALL

HOW CAN WE BEST SERVE ALL STUDENTS:

THOSE WE HAVE ALREADY AS WELL AS THOSE WHO DO NOT CONSIDER THEMSELVES “STUDENT MATERIAL”?

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC Let’s Bridge the Gap together!