Implement policy requiring students who place into two or more developmental courses to also take College Skills class; revise curriculum/learning outcomes of class to develop skills students need to succeed in other course work; develop training program for COL instructors to build consistency o
Aiken Technical College
Active in Achieving the Dream:
2007 - present
Leader College:
2011 - 2014
Leader College
Participating Institution
Institutionalized professional development for faculty and new approaches to the developmental math curriculum are associated with course completion for students who come to Aiken Technical College (ATC) with developmental education needs.
What We Are Doing:
Developmental education, particularly math, is a major focus of Achieving the Dream strategies at ATC. One of these strategies, the Lecture/Lab Approach with Prescriptive Remediation, combines a developmental math lecture course with a weekly 3-hour lab assisted by classroom tutors.
Who We Are:
According to 2005-2009 estimates by the American Community Survey, 13% of families and 16% of individuals in Aiken County live below poverty level, and 54% of individuals have attained a high school diploma or less. ATC enrolled 3,270 undergraduates in Fall 2009; 61% were white and 33% were African American.
ATC is a comprehensive institution of higher education established to provide opportunities for educational, economic, professional, social, and personal development. The college educates and trains students to provide an effective work force to support economic growth and community development through its focus on teaching and service.How We Work:
ATC’s strategies increase success for academically underprepared students by improving course delivery and advising.
The Advising Center is staffed by full-time academic advisors who meet regularly with incoming students who are non-program ready until they complete all developmental education courses.
New Student and Family Orientation is a large-scale orientation for new students and their friends and family members.
Developmental Education Faculty Learning Community is an opportunity for developmental education faculty to meet monthly to discuss pedagogy and issues related to student success.
Five Faculty Academies provide a college-wide, systematic program of faculty professional development to improve student learning and build consistent, high-quality instruction.
Thanks to our partnership with Achieving the Dream we are implementing strategies that help students achieve in their developmental courses, and the result is students who are prepared to attain even greater success in programs that lead to the local workforce and university transfer.
Susan A. Winsor, President, Aiken Technical College
PDF Version:
Student Success Strategies
Aiken Technical College is using the following strategies to impact student success:
Professional Development courses, each approximately 12 contact hours in length, focused on improving student learning. All full-time faculty members at ATC are required to participate in one academy each year.
Develop an Advising Center, which will coordinate the development of students’ academic plan; have several ‘touches’ with the students; coordinate early academic intervention programs; focused on academically underprepared students until they are ‘program ready’ (i.e
Combining a Developmental Math lecture course with a 3 hour weekly lab; placing tutors in the classroom for additional help; allowing/facilitating acceleration through material as mastered.
Large scale orientation, including new students and their families/friends; provides orientation to the college, programs, campus safety, available services, information about student organizations and activities, etc.
