In recent years, Tennessee has attracted a great deal of attention among policy makers in higher education. For example, the Volunteer State was one of the first to develop performance funding for its institutions.
Lately another idea is making the rounds, based on a very traditional approach to vocational education there. The state's technical colleges formulate the total course of study, including the times classes are offered, and then compel students to conform, rather than allow them to create their own schedules and choose areas of specialty. Reportedly it seems to be working.
It's the subject of a recent broadcast and article on National Public Radio by Larry Abramson. Please read the article, as it contains a number of interesting observations. A basic takeaway is that it's not always good to give students a long menu of choices, as it confuses them and may actually contribute to higher attrition. Although the piece deals principally with technical and career education, the author speculates whether there are implications for all levels.
Some of this territory may seem like a discussion of Learning Communities—praised by many, but also criticized as not producing better statistics on graduation and transfer. (The basic idea is to have a cohort of students move through a curriculum together. Most practitioners say Learning Communities work if designed and monitored properly.) But the Tennessee approach seems more broad-based.
One obvious problem with the model involves part time students who may not be able to fit their schedules into the template created by the school. According to the article, students are allowed to opt for part time study. However, a deeper commitment by students (presumably with financial aid to make it possible) may be a preferable goal to keep them in college. There is something to be said for maximum "skin in the game."
Some key passages from NPR:
Many higher-ed institutions brag about all the choices they offer: lots of courses and majors to choose from, pick your own schedule. But for some students, choice can be the enemy, says James King, vice chancellor of the Tennessee Technology Centers, a state-supported career-training program with 27 locations strung across the state.
"We do not use the Burger King Approach — 'Have it your way' — because, most of the time, employers do not have that approach," he said. "You work according to a schedule they set."
And:
The centers have followed much the same program for more than 40 years, and it's actually pretty old school: create a closely knit program, like a small Ivy League college. Now, as more schools realize just how bad college completion rates are, they're looking in this direction.
Next September, the City University of New York will open a brand new school called The New Community College, with Scott Evenbeck as president.
"We've designed a curriculum and core curriculum that everyone will go through together," Evenbeck said. "And the students will all be, at least in the first year, enrolled full time."
These schools are building on evidence that shows many students simply take the wrong classes or they can't get into the right ones; either way, they waste time and money. The longer they take, the more likely they are to drop out. The New Community College will start with a summer program that introduces students to the school and one another.
"Then when they come in the fall, they'll have an intact schedule where a cohort of students will take everything together," Evenbeck said.
There are signs this approach has promise for one- and two-year students. The question is whether these tightly focused programs have something to teach bigger four-year schools, where graduation rates are also pretty low.
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