Ensuring Academic Quality - Syracuse University
Ensuring Academic QualityRecognizing Syracuse University Courses Taken Through Project Advance
DEAR COLLEAGUEThis document is intended to offer evidence that SyracuseUniversity Project Advance (SUPA) offers a rigorous,accredited concurrent enrollment program (CEP) thatenables qualified high school students to experiencea university course in accordance with the exact samestandards expected of all Syracuse University courses.SUPA students who complete a course with a passing gradeare awarded SU credit, just as if they took the course on theSyracuse campus.We respectfully request that these credits be considered fortransfer to your institution.Higher education advocates and critics alike acknowledgethat a college degree is key to success in today’s society.With such emphasis on the undergraduate degree, educationreformers are addressing a variety of issues related to access,cost, and college readiness.At SUPA, we welcome the fact that CEPs are being held upby these reformers as examples of how secondary and postsecondary institutions are working together to give studentsaccess to advanced learning and the tools they need for post-secondary success at a much lower cost-per-credit than theon-campus rate.In fact, rigorous, accredited CEPs such as Project Advanceare a multidimensional reform strategy. Not only dothey offer innovative and challenging university coursesto qualified high school students and college readinessprograms and services, as you will learn in this document,they also provide continuous professional development forhigh school teachers and conduct extensive, ongoing researchand evaluation so that their programs systematically improveover time.If you have any questions about our program, the quality ofSU courses taught through it, or our research and evaluationmethods and results, do not hesitate to contact me.Sincerely,Gerald Edmonds, Ph.D.Director, Syracuse University Project Advancegedmonds@syr.edu315.443.2404TABLE OF CONTENTSEnsuring the Academic Quality of SU Courses in the High Schools23Teacher Qualifications & Selection Process4Adjunct Instructor Certification4Ongoing Teacher Professional Development5Syracuse University Syllabi Requirements6Regular Onsite Class Visits6Additional Academic & Professional Resources6Placement Criteria, Registration Requirements, & Support Services7Program Research & Evaluation8History of SUPA10SUPA’s Mission10Supplemental Notes11
ENSURING THE ACADEMIC QUALITY OF SU COURSES IN HIGH SCHOOLSSyracuse University courses offered through Project Advance are designed to be as identical as possible to theiron-campus counterparts, and SUPA has well-established mechanisms and policies in place to ensure their academicquality, including:u Course offerings are strictly limited to regular SU courses in the universitySUPAucatalog.Departmental review and approval of new schools, as well as of new instructorsfor Summer Institute training by SU faculty.Mandatory professional development requirements for teacher certificationdeveloped by SU faculty and SUPA (high school teachers must become SUadjunct instructors before they can teach SU courses).Ongoing professional development requirements for all high school teacherstrained as SU adjunct instructors, to ensure continued certification.Submission of syllabi each semester by SU adjunct instructorsin the high schools and syllabi review by university faculty and programadministrators.Regular campus visits (minimally once a semester) by SU faculty and SUPAadministrators, to meet with students and instructors and to review studentworkShared resources for SUPA instructors (including, exam templates, assignmentrubrics, shared readings, etc.)Student placement criteria, registration requirements, and support services.Standard assessment practices, including course evaluations.Regular impact studies, including post-graduate student surveys.uuuuuuuuSUPA is the only programaffiliated with a private researchuniversity in the Northeastto be accredited by the NationalAlliance of ConcurrentEnrollment Partnerships.3
TEACHER QUALIFICATIONS & SELECTION PROCESSSchool administrators at partner high schools typically nominate teachers to become Syracuse University adjunctinstructors based on their teaching qualifications, their content-area knowledge, and their willingness to take on theadditional demands of teaching a university course.Once nominated, teachers officially apply to enterthe program and are required to submit letters ofrecommendation from school supervisors as well as theircomplete undergraduate and graduate transcripts and recordsof their teaching history.High school faculty who teach SU courses must meet theacademic requirements for instructors in the academicdepartments whose courses they teach. In most casesthey must have at least a master’s degree and five years ofsuccessful teaching experience in the subject area.The faculty coordinator—an SU faculty member whooversees the academic quality of the courses offeredthrough SUPA on behalf of her/his home department—evaluates these credentials and decides if the candidates areacademically qualified to teach the courses.While core curriculum courses, such as first-year academicwriting, are commonly taught by new TAs at many collegesand universities, SUPA instructors often have the addedbenefit of being highly experienced veteran teachers, whobring their subject-area expertise, master’s background, andyears of instructional practice to the teaching of these SUcourses.If they are, SUPA officially invites the teachers to the SUPASummer Institute. (In some cases, faculty may require anadditional interview with the applicant.)These instructors are thus uniquely positioned to work withSU faculty to offer these advanced courses in their highschools.ADJUNCT INSTRUCTOR CERTIFICATIONTeachers who meet the requirements to attend the Project Advance Summer Institute are required to participatein an intensive, week-long, course-specific summer workshop, during which they familiarize themselves with coursepedagogy, materials, methodologies, assessment practices, and grading standards.Upon successful completion of the workshop, qualified highschool teachers receive SU adjunct instructor appointmentsand are able to teach the SU course on their own campus aspart of their regular high school teaching schedule.Attendance at the Summer Institute workshops is mandatory.The workshops are held on the SU campus and led by SUfaculty members.Participants typically meet with SU faculty for a full weekon an all-day schedule (i.e., 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.). These are veryhands-on, collaborative workshops in which instructorsare required to model course pedagogy in practice, developsupplemental heuristics, review required textbooks, etc.In order to become fully certified as an SU adjunct instructorthrough SUPA, participants must submit completed syllabi(in adherence to SU syllabi templates) and all other workshop4assignments for review and feedback by the SU facultycoordinator.Participants are responsible for any syllabus revisions oradditional coursework required by the faculty coordinator.High school faculty whoteach SU courses mustmeet the academicrequirements forinstructors in theacademic departmentswhose courses they teach.
ONGOING TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENTProfessional development for Syracuse University adjunct instructors continues after they have completed theProject Advance Summer Institute.All instructors are required to attend and participate insubject-specific seminars each semester in order to maintaintheir SU certification.Seminars enable adjunct instructors to remain current incourse pedagogy and in new developments in their fields,to exchange best practices, to maintain common gradingstandards, and to ensure that their students have the sameacademic experience as students on campus.SUPA seminars frequently feature guest speakers who arerecognized leaders in their profession. Often, they are leadingscholars whose work is changing the fundamentals of theirdisciplines, bringing new critical viewpoints, developing newtechnology, or offering new answers to questions that arecentral to a field of study.Recent examples include:“Applied Writing Projects in Calculus: What, Why, & How,”P. Gavin LaRose, Department of Mathematics, Universityof Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI“The Future of Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research:Addressing Ethical Conflict with Responsible ScientificResearch,” David M. Gilbert, SUNY Upstate MedicalUniversity, Syracuse, NY“New York State Economy,” Jason Bram & Richard Dietz,Federal Reserve Bank of New York, NYAdjunct instructors have additional opportunities forprofessional development in their course content areasthrough SU and SUPA, including online graduate coursesand advanced summer workshops for graduate credit and/or professional development experience, such as this year’s“Research in the Digital Age” and “Teaching and WritingCreative Nonfiction” courses.SUPAThese one-day seminars are facilitated by SU faculty andSUPA program administrators. They provide a space forongoing professional dialogue between high school anduniversity faculty.“Issues of Plagiarism,” Becky Howard, The Writing Program,Syracuse UniversityMany SUPA instructors take advantage of these continuingeducation opportunities, and in doing so they model for theirstudents what it means to be a life-long learner.As the titles for these workshops indicate, the courses alsohave practical applications for classroom teaching and ofteninform instructors’ pedagogy.“Project Advance is the reasonI have stayed in educationfor 30 years. I get to tap theenormous experience of SUfaculty, and I stay in touch withmy profession and discovernew ways to challenge mystudents.”—Christine Scharf,Rome (NY) Free Academy5
SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY SYLLABI REQUIREMENTSTypically, Project Advance instructors are asked to develop a course syllabus based on a provided SyracuseUniversity template and to submit an official updated copy to SU every semester that they teach an SU course.Instructors must distribute syllabi on the first day of classes, just as they would on campus.In some cases, course syllabi will be virtually identical to theon-campus version in terms of reading assignments, projectrequirements, exam formats, etc.In other courses, such as English and writing, instructorsmay have some room to supplement the core course readingsand assignments (with prior approval of the SU facultycoordinator).All syllabi are subject to review by an SU faculty coordinator,faculty visitors, and program administrators and must reflectthe fact that the courses being taught are first and foremostSU courses.Schools that do not adhere to SU policies and departmentalrequirements are subject to termination.However, the basic learning objectives and requirements —including grade distributions, rubrics, and course design—remain identical to those used on campus.REGULAR ONSITE CLASS VISITSAt least once each semester, Syracuse University faculty members, as well as Project Advance administrators, visiteach section to:uuuuuConfirm that the section is functioning as an SU class.Participate in classroom discussions or provide lectures on course content.Talk with students about college culture and academics.Engage in ongoing professional development with the instructor.Discuss overall administration of the program with high school representatives.SU faculty also read student work and review tests thatstudents have completed for their SU courses to ensure thatthe grading standards applied are consistent with those oncampus.In addition to site visits, SU faculty members and SUPAadministrators are available as resources for high schoolinstructors and their students via phone, Skype, and e-mail.ADDITIONAL ACADEMIC & PROFESSIONAL RESOURCESProject Advance instructors also have access to a variety of resource-sharing sites and listservs.The SU Writing Program invites SUPA English instructors,for example, to share in resource materials specificallydesigned by faculty and staff for WRT 105. These materialsare regularly updated and made available online.partnership with a four-year research institution, allow SUPAinstructors to remain on the cutting edge of compositionpedagogy and to put these practices to work in their SUclassrooms.Such connections to a large network of Writing Programfaculty and to university teaching resources, as part of their6
PLACEMENT CRITERIA, REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS, & SUPPORT SERVICESTypically, students earning a grade of B or better in their high school courses—who have the recommendation oftheir school instructors and guidance department (based on test scores, such as the SAT or ACT; sample writing;instructor interviews; or other local criteria), and who are motivated to challenge themselves in their senior year—are eligible to take Syracuse University courses through Project Advance.SUPAAs with other advanced programs, such as AP, for whichstudents can earn transfer credit recognition, SUPAregistrants are not designated as degree-seeking students.Through SUPA, high school students register as part-time,non-matriculated students of SU and earn SU credit anda transcript for their coursework. They are financiallyresponsible for the (reduced) tuition for these courses.Adjunct instructors utilize multiple and varied assessments(appropriate to the discipline) throughout a course toevaluate student work. Students earn SU credit by virtue ofthe quality of work they produce each day in class, ratherthan by how well they do on a single high-stakes exam.The course curriculum is defined by SU standards, not testwriters, and instructors evaluate student work on the basisof the course learning objectives and the established gradingrubrics.All SUPA students are provided with an SU ID that grantsthem access to the SU library system and are expected tobecome familiar with its databases and research tools forrelevant coursework.Students and instructors may contact SU librarians forsupport at anytime via the library’s chat features, e-mailsystem, or other channels. In addition, virtual, hands-onlibrary instruction is readily available to all SUPA classesto support multiple literacies for students, including basicinformation literacy.SUPA also provides partner schools with access to technologyfor the classrooms, including wikispaces, blog-hostingcapabilities, and learning management systems, as well as a“strategic learning” website for student self-assessment.SUPA instructors utilize multipleand varied assessmentsto evaluate student work.Students earn SU creditby virtue of the quality of workthey produce each day in class,rather than by how well they doon a single high-stakes exam.7
PROGRAM RESEARCH & EVALUATIONProject Advance regularly engages in program assessment to evaluate its efficacy for various constituenciesand to help develop innovative academic programming and support services. SUPA’s research and design team:uuuuuAdministers student evaluations of every course section the program offers in the high schools eachsemester.Solicits instructor feedback on SUPA professional development activities.Surveys secondary administrators and faculty in a “SUPA Impact Study” conducted every three years.Conducts an annual postgraduate survey of former SUPA students one year out of high school, askingabout the effects of SUPA on postsecondary experiences.Every three years, surveys former SUPA students four years out from high school graduation to assess howSU courses offered through SUPA affected their overall college experience.Nearly 40 years of student surveys have shown that whenstudents who take an SU course through SUPA go on totake the advanced course in the same subject area at SU oranother university, their grades are equal to or higher thantheir initial SU grade. In other words, their SUPA experiencehas prepared these students for success at the college level.iOf the students who responded to the 2011 PostgraduateSurvey of SUPA Class of 2010, for example, the majorityof respondents (97%) evaluated their overall academicexperience of these SU courses taken in high school to bein the “excellent” to “good” range. Results are comparable inthis category for earlier postgraduate surveys.SUPA students enrolled in SU courses routinely reportback that they are required to be much more independentthinkers and writers in them than in their regular high schoolcourses and that they must learn to adapt to a much fasterpaced schedule, with a significantly greater amount of workassigned.iiStudents also are asked to assess the SUPA program andthe SU courses they have taken in terms of how muchthey prepared them for college and provided a realisticexpectation of the academic challenges of college, along withfive other categories.SUPA’s annual Postgraduate Survey Study, as noted above,examines graduates’ attempts to transfer or gain recognitionfor credit, as well as their assessment of the academic impactof their SU courses on their current college experiences.In the 2011 Postgraduate Survey of SUPA Class of 2010, 88%of SUPA students said the program better prepared them forcollege (“agree”/”strongly agree”); 67% said they gained betterstudy habits; and 87.2% said they gained useful analyticalskills through SUPA.In these surveys, students’ open-ended comments addressa range of subjects: course instruction, the curriculum,content and time-management skills learned, credit transfer/recognition attempts, etc.For more information about SUPA postgraduate surveysand to see sample reports, contact Dr. Rob Pusch, AssociateDirector of Research & Evaluation, at rpusch@syr.edu.8SUPA students enrolled inSU courses routinely reportback that they are requiredto be much more independentthinkers and writers in themthan in their regularhighschool courses.
PROGRAMRESEARCH & EVALUATION2011 Postgraduate Survey of SUPA Class of 2010Assessment of SUPA Experiencen 1095Fair/PoorGoodExcellent/Very Good0.00%20.00%40.00%60.00%80.00%100.00%2011 Postgraduate Survey of SUPA Class of 2010Assessment of College PreparationGained UsefulAnalyticalSkills(n 1304)Gained BetterStudy Habits(n 1312)BetterPrepared Mefor College(n 1311)0%10%20%30%40%50%60%Strongly Agree/Agree70%80%90%100%Disagree/Strongly Disagree9
HISTORY OF SUPACurrently in its 40th year, Project Advance is one of the oldest and most respected concurrent enrollment programsin the country.uuuuuSUPA has served as a model for other programs nationally, including those at Indiana Universityand the University of Pittsburgh.SUPA is the only program affiliated with a private research university in the Northeast to beaccredited by NACEP. Accreditation is based on a comprehensive peer review conducted by NACEPto ensure that a program meets or exceeds the organization’s 17 national standards for programquality in the areas of curriculum, faculty, students, assessment, and program evaluation.iiiSUPA recently was awarded reaccreditation by NACEP, the National Alliance of ConcurrentEnrollment Partnerships.SUPA has received many honors over the years from the American Association for HigherEducation, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, the National Commissionon Excellence in Education, and other national and state organizations.Consistently, around 90% of SUPA graduates report receiving recognition for their SU courses atcolleges and universities across the US and Canada.Nationally, concurrent/dual enrollment programs have grownrapidly in number, though not all concurrent enrollmentprograms are alike.SUPA prides itself on exceeding the standards established byNACEP for concurrent/dual enrollment programs and forinsisting upon the need for strict national standards to ensurethat college courses do not become diluted in the high schoolsand that the credit actually reflects university academicstandards and expectations.Students who have completed SU courses through SUPAreport credit transfer recognition at a variety of col
2 2 En Ensuring the Academic Quality of SU Courses in the High Schools 3 Teacher Qualifications & Selection Process 4 Adjunct Instructor Certification 4 Ongoing Teacher Professional Development 5 Syracuse University Syllabi Requirements 6 Regular Onsite Class Visits 6 Additional Academic & Professional Resources 6
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Syracuse University recognizes Adjuncts United/ NYSUT as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent for all part-time non-tenure track faculty members teaching fewer than twenty-four (24) credit hours per academic year (excluding summer sessions) employed by the University on the University's Syracuse, New
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