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Instructional Services Earns Program Certification
Instructional Services recently joined an
elite group of 15 college and university learning assistance programs that have
been certified for their quality by the National Association for Developmental
Education (NADE). NADE certifies learning assistance programs for their
tutoring, developmental coursework, or adjunct instruction program components.
These programs must meet or exceed criteria of good practices as defined by
professional research and literature of the field. Of the 15 programs certified
since 1999, 4 have been for tutoring programs, and 11 for developmental
coursework programs.
The certification process requires a two-step procedure through which a program
component demonstrates its use of theory, quality practices, and analysis of
evaluation data to meet its goals and objectives. Instructional Services staff
began work on the formal certification process three years ago, with required
training prior to completion of a preliminary application and approval to move
forward, a self-study using a fifteen-part program evaluation guide, a formal
application with data to support each of the fifteen parts of the self-study,
and an external program review.
The Instructional Services review examined areas of program strength and
potential weakness, along with actions feasible and recommended to address areas
needing strengthening. Staff reviewed program mission, goals, and objectives;
content and delivery of courses; program evaluation; leadership and management;
organization and administration; awareness of individual differences, equal
opportunity, access, and affirmative action; funding; facilities; human
resources; ethics and legal responsibilities; and campus and community
relations. The department submitted 3-5 years of data in each area to
demonstrate the effectiveness of developmental coursework in terms of student
performance within courses and performance in subsequent university-level
courses.
The Instructional Services internal and external review yielded Advanced Level
Certification, valid for 7 years, based on its ability to demonstrate quality of
short-term academic performance and student persistence. Of the 11 programs
certified for their best practices in developmental coursework, 5 have been
certified at the General Level, 3 (including Instructional Services at the
Advanced Level), and 3 at the Distinguished Level.
Certification was awarded during the 28th Annual Conference of the
National Association for Developmental Education conference, held in St. Louis,
Missouri, March 10-14, 2004. Instructional Services, which is housed in the
College of Arts and Sciences at SIUE, is under the direction of Karen
Patty-Graham, Ed.D.
April 8, 2004 - The Alestle
For additional information, contact Karen Patty-Graham, 650-3717, kpattyg@siue.edu