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Early Credit Task Force

Final Report

December, 2011

Submitted to the Undergraduate Programs Council

Iowa State University

by

Task Force Members

Karen Zunkel, Chair, Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost Paul Castleberry, College of Engineering Jonathan Compton, Office of the Registrar Maura Flaschner, Office of Admissions Jane R. Jacobson, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Dayle Nickerson, College of Human Sciences Tom Polito, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Jason Pontius, Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost Dana Schumacher, Honors Program

Early Credit Task Force Page 1

Early Credit Task Force Final Report

December, 2011

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Early Credit Task Force was formed in December 2009 to research the student and institutional impacts associated with a growing number of ‘direct from high school students’ entering Iowa State University with an increasing number of college credits earned while in high school. For the purposes of this study, sources of early college credit included Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), dual enrollment (2- and 4- year colleges, both Post Secondary Enrollment Act PSEO and direct enrollment). In Fall 2010, 62% of entering first-year students had earned some college credits while in high school, compared to 34% in Fall 2000. The median number of early college credits (ECC) for Fall 2010 new students was 13 compared to 6 in Fall 2000.

Task force members analyzed data from the Office of the Registrar, surveyed students that entered Iowa State with ECC, met with various committees and units across campus, and reviewed university materials to determine the impacts of early credit. Some of the key findings are highlighted below:

1. All academic colleges are experiencing growth in the number of students with ECC and the amount of ECC they earned. In Fall 2010, at least half of the students in each undergraduate college entered with ECC. The highest percentage was 69% in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. The most significant growth has been associated with Iowa residents bringing in transfer credits, typically earned through community colleges.

2. When incoming characteristics (i.e., residency, ACT scores, high school rank, high school GPA, field of academic interest, and first fall semester enrolled credit hours) are controlled,

a. students with any amount of ECC have slightly higher GPA in their first semester and first year than students without ECC;

b. students with ECC have a somewhat shorter time to graduation than those without ECC. (For example, students entering Fall 2005 with 19+ credits had an average time to graduation of 4.1 years compared to 4.5 years for their peers without ECC);

c. students earning 1-10 early credits were more likely to earn a minor than similar students with no early credit;

d. students with ECC are less likely to change their majors than similar students without ECC; e. students with 19 or more early credits are significantly more likely to graduate with second

majors; and f. increasing the amount of early credit does not have a significant impact on academic success

outcomes (increased first term GPA, first year GPA, first year retention, second year retention). The only impact of increased credit was a greater chance of graduating within four years.

3. In studying key sequenced courses the data indicated a. Students who earned credit in the first calculus course at a community college tended to

earn significantly lower grades in the subsequent course at Iowa State compared to students who took the first calculus course at Iowa State.

b. In a comparison of English 250 grades where ACT-English scores were controlled, there was no difference in grades regardless of whether English 150 was taken at a community college or Iowa State.


4. Based on the student surveys: a. Approximately three-quarters of the ECC courses were taught by high school faculty during

regular school hours in the high school. b. Over half of the students reported that at least some of their credits did not apply to their

degree requirements for their major. c. Seventeen percent of the students repeated at least one ECC course at Iowa State. d. Of the students responding, 97% said that if they could repeat high school, they would take

ECC courses again. e. Students identified “course topic gaps” between what they learned in their ECC courses and

where the sequential Iowa State course began as being an issue that the institution could address to improve their academic experience.

f. Students also identified a need for specialized, individualized advising for students entering with ECC.

5. There are many processes that create challenges for ECC students and ISU, e.g. courses for release during summer orientation, posting transfer evaluations for students with early credit, and selecting appropriate courses for first-year learning communities.

6. There are many misperceptions among incoming students, parents, and K-12 counselors about how ECC courses are applied to a student’s degree requirements and how they may influence time to graduation. There is also a general lack of awareness about the process involved in transferring ECC to Iowa State.

7. Policies/programs that use student credit hours earned (classification: freshman, sophomore, etc.) as a determining factor need to be revisited based on the ECC trend. In Fall 2010, there were 347 direct from high school students who were classified as sophomores or juniors when they entered.

8. Students entering with ECC create increased workloads for units associated with processing student records (transfer credit evaluations, degree audits, etc.) and for individuals answering questions from students/families (academic advisors, admissions counselors, etc.).

Recommendations

Based on the research findings, the task force makes the following prioritized recommendations:

1. The Office of Admissions, in collaboration with representatives from the task force, the University Academic Advising Committee, and college student services offices, should develop an education plan for raising awareness among parents, students, and high school counselors on issues related to early credit.

2. The findings from this report should be disseminated throughout Iowa State University and the broader higher education community, including but not limited to a discussion at President’s Council, presentations at Iowa State advising and retention summits, and presentations at regional and national conferences.

3. Iowa State should continue to monitor students with early credit and periodically assess the impact of ECC on those students and the ISU community.

4. Faculty Senate Academic Affairs Council should coordinate a review of the curriculum and policy issues identified by the task force through the appropriate Faculty Senate Committees, and corresponding college and departmental level committees.

5. ISU units identified in the report should revise and enhance their programs and materials to address better the needs of students entering with early credit, while continuing to meet the needs of students entering without early credit.

6. The Office of the Registrar, Office of Admissions, and Office the Executive Vice President and Provost should work within appropriate committee structures (Course Availability, Registration


Classification Committee, Undergraduate Programs Council, etc.) on the process issues identified in the report to reduce negative effects that may be associated with students earning early credit.

7. The ISU Foundation, in collaboration with the appropriate ISU administrative units, should review scholarship Memoranda of Agreement and initiate discussions with donors, as appropriate, for scholarships currently using classification as a criterion.

8. ISU should continue to expand and enhance the faculty-to-faculty discussions on course equivalencies and articulation between ISU faculty and Iowa Community College faculty.

9. Unit administrators of key process and student contact areas (Academic Advising, Office of Admissions, Office of the Registrar, college student services offices etc.) should review staff sizing/configurations to determine if staff levels are appropriate based on the increased workloads associated with early credit students.


BACKGROUND

Jane Jacobson and Dana Schumacher, in their roles as academic advisors, conducted preliminary research on Early College Credit (ECC) issues beginning in 2007. They shared their early results in presentations at the 2008 First Year Experience Conference, the 2008 National NACADA Conference, the 2008 and 2009 ACT state conference and with the Undergraduate Programs Council in 2009. Recognizing that this trend could have significant impact across the institution, the Undergraduate Programs Council formed the Early Credit Task Force in December 2009. The charge to the task force was to determine the scope/impact of ECC at Iowa State. The task force focused on:

1. data/information to collect now and on an on-going basis (enrollment, number credits, success rates, etc.) to assess/understand the issue and trends,

2. the challenges/opportunities associated with the transition of these students to the full college experience,

3. the impact on and possible need to modify current ISU programs, processes or policies due to the ECC trend,

4. recommendations for institutional action to address changing student and institutional needs, 5. information/data to help shape the messages and information related to ECC shared with

prospective students, families, and high school educators to enhance student success, and 6. strategies for educating and engaging the broader campus community in successfully serving

these students.

Task force members and the areas they represent are:

Karen Zunkel, Task Force chair, Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost

Paul Castleberry, College of Engineering

Jonathan Compton, Office of the Registrar

Maura Flaschner, Office of Admissions

Jane R. Jacobson, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Dayle Nickerson, College of Human Sciences

Tom Polito, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Jason Pontius, Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost

Dana Schumacher, Honors Program

Initial membership also included Kevin Saunders and Mary Goodwin, who left the University, and John Wagner, whose position changed.

The task force identified three distinct areas for research. Jonathan Compton, Jason Pontius, and Tom Polito, focused on the analysis of data from the Office of the Registrar. Maura Flaschner, Jane Jacobson, Jason Pontius, and Dana Schumacher gathered information from the student perspective. Paul Castleberry, Dayle Nickerson, and Karen Zunkel collected perspectives from faculty/staff to understand institutional/policy issues. There has been limited research done at the state or national level on the impact of ECC. The task force received IRB Human Subjects approval for the research which will allow ISU to share the results more broadly.


STATUS OF EARLY CREDIT STUDENTS AT IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY

Statistical Methodology

Data from the Office of the Registrar were used to analyze enrollment and student success for first-time first-year students who entered Iowa State University between Fall 2000 and Fall 2010. For this report, Early College Credit (ECC) includes the following types of college credit earned while in high school: Transfer Credit (college credit taken through a community college or other 4-year institution), Advanced Placement Credit, credit taken at Iowa State through Post-Secondary Enrollment Opportunity/Senior Year Plus, and International Baccalaureate credit.

In addition to descriptive statistics, regression and propensity score analyses were used. The multiple regression procedure included both Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) and logistic regressions depending on the nature of the dependent variable being considered. The purpose of the regression analysis is to consider the impact of early credit while controlling for student characteristics such as ACT score, high school GPA, and high school rank.

In addition to the regression analysis, student outcomes were analyzed using propensity score matching. Propensity score matching is used to determine the treatment effect of programs or interventions in which participants were not randomly assigned to treatment or control groups. For this analysis, students with early credit were matched to students with no early credit who had very similar entry characteristics (i.e., residency, ACT scores, high school rank, high school GPA, field of academic interest, and first fall enrolled credit hours). Thousands of one-to-one matches provided statistically-generated sets of “twins” whose available academic profile data differ only by the amount of earned early college credit. For the purposes of this study, the differences found by outcome measure are considered to represent the impact of early college credit. The Task Force recognizes that there are student characteristics beyond those available for examination in this study that may also influence the differences between students with and without ECC.

Early College Credit Enrollment Trends (2000 – 2010)

Of the direct from high school students entering Iowa State in Fall 2000, 34% of them had ECC with six being the median number of credits. By Fall 2010, 62% of the direct from high school students entered with ECC and the median number of credits was 13. In Fall 2010 at least 50% of all incoming high school graduates in all six undergraduate colleges entered with ECC. (Note: College specific data for many items in this section are included in Appendix A through C.)

Table 1 shows upward trends in all areas, most dramatically the increase in total credits.


Table 1. Trends in Early College Credit, 2000, 2006, and 2010

2000

Entering Class

2006 Entering

Class

2010 Entering

Class

Entering Class Size 4,260 3,982 4,552

Students with Credit 1,456 2,088 2,834

Total Credits 13,647 25,552 44,613

Mean Credits per Student* 9.4 12.2 15.7

Median Credits per Student* 6.0 10.0 13.0

% of Students with Credit 34% 52% 62% * Mean and Median are just for students with early credit

Types of credit and resident status: Figures 1 and 2 The following graphs illustrate the dramatic growth in the amount of ECC for both Iowa and non-resident students over the last decade.

Figure 1. Percent of Iowa Residents with Different Types of Early College Credit


Figure 2. Percent of Non-Residents with Different Types of Early College Credit

Median number of credits: Figures 3 and 4 The next two graphs show the increase in median credits for the two most popular types of ECC, transfer credit and AP credit. For Iowa students the most dramatic increase was in the median number of transfer credits.

Figure 3. Median Transfer and AP Credit for Iowa Residents


Figure 4. Median Transfer and AP Credit for Non-Residents

Most popular ECC courses: Table 2 In addition to looking at the types of ECC, the Task Force identified which courses were the most frequently taken for early credit. Table 2 lists the top ten courses for students who entered in Fall 2010. The top 10 courses have remained fairly constant over the past decade; however, the number of students entering ISU with credit in these courses has continued to rise.

Table 2: Ten Most Popular ECC Courses for Fall 2010 Entering Students

Course

Course Title Number of Students

Percent of New Students

ENGL 150 Composition I 1,294 28%

MATH 165 Calculus I 848 19%

ENGL 250 Composition II 716 16%

PSYCH 101 Intro to Psychology 667 15%

SP CM 212 Public Speaking 460 10%

STAT 101 Statistics 302 7%

POL S 215 American Government 285 6%

ENGL 201 Intro to Literature 254 6%

SPAN 201 Intermediate Spanish I 249 5%

HIST 222 U S History Since 1877 237 5%


Demographics: Figures 5, 6, 7, and 8 Figure 5 shows that a smaller percentage of minority students enter ISU with ECC. While the percent of minority students with ECC has increased since 2000, the gap between minority and non-minority students has widened from 4% in 2000 to 15% in 2010. Female students tend to take advantage of early college credit at a slightly higher rate than male students, growing from a 2% gap in 2000 to a 5% gap in 2010.

Figure 5. Percent of new freshmen with ECC for minority and non-minority students

Figure 6. Percent of new freshmen with ECC by gender

As the number of students entering with ECC has grown, the academic profile of those bringing 19+ credits has changed. Figure 7 shows the average ACT score for this group has decreased from 28.3 to


26.6 between 2000 and 2010. Over the same period, the average high school rank for this group decreased from 86.2 to 83.0 (see Figure 8).

Figure 7. Average ACT scores for students entering with ECC by amount of early credit

29.0

28.0

27.0

26.0

25.0

24.0

23.0

22.0

19 or more

11 to 18

7 to 10

1 to 6

0

21.0

20.0

Figure 8. High School rank for students entering with ECC by amount of early credit

90.0

85.0

80.0

75.0

70.0

65.0

60.0

19 or more

11 to 18

7 to 10

1 to 6

0

55.0

50.0


Student Success/Impact of ECC

The task force investigated the impact of ECC on a variety of student success measures using a combination of basic descriptive statistics, regression analysis and propensity score matching. Student success measures investigated included:

Number of credits attempted the student’s first semester of enrollment

First semester and first year GPA’s

First and second year retention

Graduation rate

Time to graduation

Participation in learning communities

Addition of minors or second majors

Success in subsequent course(s) taken at Iowa State, for key sequenced courses Note: Appendix D shows the change in these measures over time and Appendix E presents the data by college.

Does early credit help with first semester and first year academic adjustment? The task force considered two aspects of this question. The first was whether early college credit provides students with a “buffer” in their first semester that frees them to take fewer credits and therefore have an easier adjustment in their first semester. However, an alternate hypothesis was that entering with too much ECC could lead students to be placed in advanced courses for which they are not fully prepared. It was also hypothesized that there exists a “sweet spot,” or optimum amount of early credit that helps students succeed. Additional ECC beyond this optimum amount might show diminishing benefits in the outcomes measures.

While the task force hypothesized that students who bring in ECC would use their early credit as a buffer to allow them to take fewer credits, there proved to be little evidence to support this. Table 3 shows the number of credits completed in the first semester does not differ greatly.

Table 3: Credits Completed in First Semester by Fall 2010 Entering Students

Early College Credit Taken

N

Completed Credits

0 credits 1,802 13.1

1 to 6 733 13.4

7 to 10 480 13.4

11 to 18 785 13.2

19 or more 1,010 13.3

When looking at the overall averages of college GPA by ECC category, the differences can be substantial (see Figure 9 below). However, when controlling for student entry characteristics such as high school rank and ACT scores, the gap narrows to a small, but statistically significant .04 -.09 GPA point advantage for students with early credit compared to those with none (see Table 4 below). An interesting finding was that this ECC effect on GPA was essentially the same regardless of the amount of early credit earned. Students with larger amounts of early credit do not have significantly higher college GPAs than those with lower amounts.


Any ECC vs.

No ECC

1-6 ECC vs.

No ECC

7-10 ECC vs.

No ECC

11-18 ECC vs.

No ECC

19+ ECC vs.

No ECC

First Fall GPA

+ .04

+ .08

+ .07

+ .07

+ .09

First Year GPA + .04 + .05 + .06 + .10 + .09

First Fall Credit Hours - .17 - .05 - .07 - .22 - .21

First Year Retention †

+ 1.7

+ 1.2

+ 1.3

+ 1.8

+ 1.2

Second Year Retention † + 3.0 + 1.8 + 2.6 + 3.5 + 3.9

Graduation Rate † + 4.0 + 2.8 + 4.6 + 6.0 + 7.2

Graduate within 4 years † + 11.0 + 5.8 + 10.5 + 13.8 + 17.4*

Time to Degree - 2.0 months - 1.2 months - 1.8 months - 2.3 months - 3.5 months

Figure 9. First fall GPA of new freshmen by amount of ECC

3.2

3.0

2.8

2.6

2.4

2.2

19 or more

11 to 18

7 to 10

1 to 6

0

2.0

Table 4. Comparisons of ECC quartiles and non-ECC students

Measure

Statistically Significant Differences, Early Credit Quartiles vs. no Early Credit

Prop e n s i ty s core ma tch i n g on I owa re s i d e n t, ACT Ma th & En gl i s h , HS Ra n k, HS GPA, Fi rs t Fa l l cre d i t h ou rs , & e n try ma jor

† = Di ffe re n ce s a re s h own i n te rms of p e rce n ta ge p oi n ts

* = re p re s e n ts a 53% i n cre a s e i n the p rob a b i l i ty of gra d u a ti n g i n 4 ye a rs or l e s s


In some situations entering Iowa State with more early credit may negatively impact college GPA. For example, students with 1 - 6 early credits have a higher first fall and first year college GPA than similar students with 7 – 10. Students with 11 – 18 early credits also have a higher first fall and first year GPA than similar students with 19 or more (see Table 4). This may be the result of students with larger amounts of early credit taking more 200- and 300-level courses in their first year. Students who transferred in AP credit showed the largest positive impact on first fall and first year college GPA (+0.10 GPA points for each period).

Are students with early credit more likely to be retained at Iowa State? Without controlling for student entry characteristics, it appeared that students with no early college credit were retained at a much lower rate than students with early credit (see Figure 10 below). That difference, however, was found to be considerably smaller when controlling for entry characteristics. Students with some early college credit were retained at slightly higher rates than similar students without (1.7 and 3.0 percentage points higher for first and second year retention, respectively) (see Table 4). When all characteristics for ECC students except the amount of early credit were controlled, there was no statistically significant difference in retention across the range of ECC (1 – 19+ credits) (see Table 5 below).

Figure 10. One-year retention rates by amount of early credit

Are students with early credit more likely to graduate from Iowa State? When not controlling for entry characteristics, the graduation rate for students with ECC is 10 - 20% higher than non-ECC students (see Figure 11). However, when the controls are applied, the difference is reduced on average to 4%. When comparing students with different amounts of early credit, no statistically significant differences were found. A student with 3 early college credits has the same probability of graduating from ISU as a similar student with 30 early college credits (see Table 5).


Table 5. Comparisons of academic performance – between ECC quartiles

Measure

Statistically Significant Differences between ECC Quartiles

1-6 ECC vs.

7-10 ECC

1-6 ECC vs.

11-18 ECC

1-6 ECC vs.

19+ ECC

7-10 ECC vs.

11-18 ECC

7-10 ECC vs.

19+ ECC

11-18 ECC vs.

19+ ECC

First Fall GPA + .12 - - - - + .06

First Year GPA + .11 - - - - + .06

First Fall Credit Hours + .17 + .10 + .16 - + .10 + .15

First Year Retention † - - - - - -

Second Year Retention † - - - - - -

Graduation Rate † - - - - - -

Graduate within 4 years † - 6.2 - 7.7 - 12.5* - 3.7 - 5.6 - 6.4

Time to Degree + 1.1 months + 1.4 months + 2.9 months + .8 months + 2.0 months + 1.7 months

Prope ns i ty s core ma tchi ng on I owa re s i de nt, ACT Ma th & Engl i s h, HS Ra nk, HS GPA, Fi rs t Fa l l cre di t hours , & e ntry ma jor

† = Di ffe re nce s a re s hown i n te rms of pe rce nta ge poi nts

* = s tude nts wi th the l e a s t a mount of ECC a re 25% l e s s l i ke l y to gra dua te i n 4 ye a rs tha n thos e wi th the mos t ECC

Figure 11. Six-year graduation rates by amount of early credit

85%

80%

75%

70%

65%

60%

55%

19 or more

11 to 18

7 to 10

1 to 6

0

50%


3.5

4.5

3

4

5

Does early credit help students graduate faster? The most consistently positive outcome for students with early credit was a shorter time to degree. The more early credits that students bring to Iowa State, the more likely they are to graduate within four years. For example, propensity score matching found students with 19 or more early credits were 53% more likely than similar students with no early credit to graduate within four years (rates of 50% and 33% respectively). Students with 19 or more early credits were 25% more likely to graduate within four years than similar students who earned 1-6 early credits.

The recent early college credit student survey conducted by the task force found many students took early credit classes in order to graduate from college in less than four years. The data show that ECC students on average graduate one semester sooner than their non-ECC peers. However, ECC students rarely graduate in less than four years when controlling for entry characteristics.

While time to degree is reduced as the number of ECC credits increases the reduction is not exponential. Increasing credits by factors of 15 does not result in a similar reduction in semesters.

Figure 12. The influence of early college credit on time to degree

The Influence of Early College Credit on Time to Degree

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Amount of Early College Credit

Fitted values Fitted line

Note: For Figure 12 the average student with early credit had 11 credits and only 16% of students with early credit had 21 or more credits. Figure 12 does not reflect variation in time to degree by college (see Appendix E).


Any ECC vs.

No ECC

1-6 ECC vs.

No ECC

7-10 ECC vs.

No ECC

11-18 ECC vs.

No ECC

19+ ECC vs.

No ECC

In a learning community †

-

+ 3.4

-

+ 4.7

+ 2.6

Earn a minor † + 3.3 + 2.7 + 5.5 - -

Earn second major † - - - - + 7.5

Change majors † - 3.5 - 4.5 - 3.5 - 3.0 -7.4

Does early credit impact minors, majors, or learning community participation? Another question that the Task Force considered was whether students who enter with ECC use their additional credit to supplement their education with “value-added” experiences. These experiences are defined in this report as earning minors or additional majors and participating in learning communities.

Minors. Students earning 1-10 early credits (about half of all early credit students) were more likely to earn a minor than similar students with no early credit. No significant impact on minors was found for students with 11 or more early college credits compared to similar students with no early credit (see Table 6). No differences in the rate of earned minors by early credit were found among students with at least one early college credit (see Table 7).

Majors. Students entering Iowa State with 19 or more early college credits (the top quartile of students with early credit) were significantly more likely to earn a double major than similar students with no early credit (see Table 6). Among students with early credit, this group was also significantly more likely to earn a double major than student earning 1-18 early credits. Students with the lowest amounts of early credit (1-6 credits) were 40% less likely to earn a double major than those students with the most early credit (19+ credits) (see Table 7). Students with early college credits are less likely to change their majors than similar students without early college credit. The differences are significant, but small (see Table 6).

Learning communities. Overall there doesn’t appear to be a learning community effect. However, between some early college credit quartiles there are small significant differences (see Table 6). Results appear to be mixed and may merit further investigation.

Table 6. Comparisons of participation in educational enhancements – ECC quartiles and non-ECC

Measure

Statistically Significant differences between ECC quartiles and no ECC

Prop e n s i ty s core ma tch i n g on I owa re s i d e n t, ACT Ma th & En gl i s h , HS Ra n k, HS GPA, Fi rs t Fa l l cre d i t h ou rs , & e n try ma jor

† = Di ffe re n ce s a re s h own i n te rms of p e rce n ta ge p oi n ts

Dosage effect: if some early credit helps, is more early credit better? Propensity score analysis found few differences among the different quartiles of those students earning early college credit (see Tables 5 and 7). For example, there were no statistically significant differences between students with 1-6 early credits and those with 19 or more early credits on college GPA, retention rate, or graduation rate. However, the more early college credits, the more likely a student


was to graduate on time. Students with 19 or more early credits were 25% more likely to graduate within four years than similar students with 1-6 early credits.

Table 7. Comparisons of educational enhancements between ECC quartiles

Statistically Significant Differences between ECC Quartiles

Measure 1-6 ECC vs.

7-10 ECC

1-6 ECC vs.

11-18 ECC

1-6 ECC vs.

19+ ECC

7-10 ECC vs.

11-18 ECC

7-10 ECC vs.

19+ ECC

11-18 ECC vs.

19+ ECC

In a learning community † + 6.4 - - - 2.7 - + 2.6

Earn a minor † - - - - - -

Earn second major † - 2.7 - - 8.4* - - 5.6 - 5.7

Change majors † - - + 2.7** - - -

Prope ns i ty s core ma tchi ng on I owa re s i de nt, ACT Ma th & Engl i s h, HS Ra nk, HS GPA, Fi rs t Fa l l cre di t hours , & e ntry ma jor

† = Di ffe re nce s a re s hown i n te rms of pe rce nta ge poi nts

* = s tude nts wi th the l e a s t a mount of ECC a re 40% l e s s l i ke l y to e a rn a s e cond ma jor tha n thos e wi th the mos t ECC

** = s tude nts wi th the l e a s t a mount of ECC a re 6% more l i ke l y to cha nge ma jors tha n thos e wi th the mos t ECC

Dosage summary. The results suggest that taking one or two classes for early college credit confers some small but significant improvements in college GPA, retention and graduation rates, and time to degree. However, additional early credit confers few additional benefits. The one important exception is that the more early credits a student has the greater the chance of graduating from Iowa State in four years.

Do early college course experiences prepare students for “downstream” ISU courses as well as taking those courses at ISU?

Several course pairs were analyzed to determine the impact of taking early credit courses on “downstream” courses. The task force looked at a variety of high enrollment, sequenced courses in disciplines such as math, chemistry, biology, physics, accounting, and English. The three course pairs below (Math 165 to Math 166, Math 166 to Math 265, and English 150 to English 250) provided the most robust results because of the large number of students who are required to take both courses in the sequence. The tables show the grade in the second course in the series only if it was taken at ISU and the first course was not. It should be noted that this analysis excludes transfer students. For example, Table 8 shows students who took Math 165 for early credit at a 2-year school, a 4-year school, for AP credit, or after enrolling at ISU (as labeled in the columns). The rows of the table are the grade received in Math 165. The data within the cells is the grade in Math 166, only for those who took Math 166 at ISU. Table 10 provides the same type of analysis for the Math 166 to Math 265 sequence. It is important when reading these tables to notice the difference in ACT scores for the different groups since the ECC students tend to have higher ACT math and English scores than their counterparts who took both of the course pairs at ISU. Thus the regression results show a more accurate picture of the difference between students based on where they took the “upstream” course since the regression controls for academic differences between students.


2-Yr 4-Yr ISU AP

Count 507 95 1,572

Grade 166 3.09 3.20 3.32

% Drop 166 9% 4% 3% ACT Math 29.8 29.9 28.6

Count

326

65

1,750

Grade 166 2.28 2.35 2.56

% Drop 166 12% 12% 8%

ACT Math 28.5 29.3 27.7

Count 130 32 1,526

Grade 166 1.63 2.14 1.78

% Drop 166 15% 31% 14%

ACT Math 27.8 28.0 26.6

Count

23

4

385

Grade 166 1.22 2.67 1.33

% Drop 166 48% 50% 17%

ACT Math 27.3 24.3 25.5

Count

5

1

1,575

Grade 166 3.80 4.00 2.98

% Drop 166 0% 0% 5%

ACT Math 32.3 36.0 30.8

Table 8. Course Comparison for Math 165 and 166

Grade in

Math 165

Statistic Type of Course for Math 165

A

B

C

D

T

(Test Out)

Ora nge = s ta ti s ti ca l l y s i gni fi ca nt a nd l ower performa nce tha n ISU group ( p < .05)

Yel l ow = s ta ti s ti ca l y s i gni fi ca nt a nd better performa nce tha n ISU group ( p < .05)

The regressions show the impact of variables on the performance in the downstream course. For example, Table 9 shows the regression of the performance in Math 166 based on whether Math 165 was taken at a community college (CC 165) or a four-year institution other than ISU (Four Year 165). Table 11 presents the regression of performance in Math 265 based on where Math 166 was taken. The coefficient for these two variables represents the difference from those who took Math 165 at ISU. The ACT math score and high school GPA are used to control for academic differences. The regression results show that, for the two math pairs, students who take the first course at a community college have slightly lower grades than comparable students who take the same course at ISU by .30 and .27 of a letter grade, for the Math 165 to Math 166 sequence and the Math 166 to math 265 sequence respectively, or about one grade level (e.g. from A to A-).


2-Yr 4-Yr ISU AP

Count 145 54 1,791

Grade 265 2.98 3.41 3.33

% Drop 265 11% 9% 2%

ACT Math 30.5 32.1 29.9

Count 84 40 1,753

Grade 265 2.33 2.62 2.52

% Drop 265 15% 10% 5%

ACT Math 28.9 30.6 28.6

Count 36 12 1,251

Grade 265 1.54 3.04 1.87

% Drop 265 22% 25% 9%

ACT Math 27.9 30.7 27.7

Table 9. Regression of Grade in Math 166

Variable Coefficient Std. Err. t sig.

CC 165 Four Year 165

-0.30

-0.16

0.04

0.08

-7.90

-1.99

0.00

0.05

Grade 165 0.55 0.02 35.56 0.00

ACT Math 0.01 0.00 3.38 0.00

HS GPA 0.75 0.04 17.82 0.00

Constant -2.22 0.16 -13.95 0.00

Adj R-squared = .35, N = 5,529

Table 10. Course Comparison for Math 166 and 265

Grade in

Math 166

Statistic Type of Course for Math 166

A

B

C

D

Count 5 3 292

Grade 265 1.84 2.11 1.54

% Drop 265 20% 0% 15%

ACT Math 28.2 31.0 27.6

Count

1

339

T Grade 265 2.67 3.32

(Test Out) % Drop 265 0% 4%

ACT Math 33.0

Ora nge = s ta ti s ti ca l l y s i gni fi ca nt a nd l ower performa nce tha n ISU group ( p < .05)

Yel l ow = s ta ti s ti ca l y s i gni fi ca nt a nd better performa nce tha n ISU group ( p < .05)


Count 786 119 5,701

Grade 250 2.92 3.15 2.82

% Drop 250 3% 2% 2%

ACT English 23.2 25.5 20.1

Count 178 20 2,020

Grade 250 2.48 2.78 2.38

% Drop 250 5% 0% 5%

Count 17 6 177

Grade 250 2.16 2.26 2.02

% Drop 250 12% 17% 10%

ACT English 22.9 21.8 19.7

Table 11. Regression of Grade in Math 265

Variable Coefficient Std. Err. T sig.


-0.27

0.12

0.06

0.10

-4.19

1.27

0.00

0.20

Grade 166 0.57 0.02 37.36 0.00

ACT Math 0.02 0.00 5.02 0.00

HS GPA 0.48 0.04 10.96 0.00

Constant -1.50 0.16 -9.34 0.00

Adj R-squared = .34, N = 4,897

Student grades in English 250 are significantly better for students who took English 150 while in high school, whether from a community college or a four-year school. However, it is important to note that the entry characteristics (ACT English, HS GPA) of the students who took English 150 as ECC are very different from students who took English 150 at Iowa State (see Table 12). When controlling for entering characteristics, the regression shows that where students take English 150 has a minimal effect on the students’ grade in English 250 (see Table 13).

Table 12. Course Comparison for English 150 and 250

Grade in

English 150

Statistic Type of Course for English 150

2-Yr 4-Yr ISU AP

Count 1,106 186 1,850

A Grade 250 3.29 3.36 3.22 % Drop 250 3% 2% 2%

ACT English 25.9 26.7 20.8

B

C

ACT English 22.1 22.1 19.6

D

T

(Test Out)

Count 1 855

Grade 250 3.44

% Drop 250 100% 2%

ACT English 25.0 29.7

Ora nge = s ta ti s ti ca l l y s i gni fi ca nt a nd l ower performa nce tha n I SU group ( p < .05)

Yel l ow = s ta ti s ti ca l y s i gni fi ca nt a nd better performa nce tha n I SU group ( p < .05)


Table 13. Regression of Grade in English 250

Variable Coefficient Std. Err. t sig.


-0.05

-0.01

0.02

0.04

-2.52

-0.14

0.01

0.89

Grade 150 0.35 0.01 32.70 0.00

ACT English 0.01 0.00 5.26 0.00

HS GPA 0.44 0.02 22.22 0.00

Constant 0.05 0.07 0.68 0.50

Adj R-squared = .22, N = 11,096


EARLY CREDIT STUDENT EXPERIENCE

In Spring 2011 a randomly selected sample of 4000 students received an invitation to complete a survey about their experiences earning and applying early college credit (ECC). These students entered Iowa State University in Fall 2008, Fall 2009, or Fall 2010 and brought with them six credits or more of ECC. The electronic survey was available to the students from March 21 – April 15. Survey information was received from 925 students for a return rate of 23%. Students from all colleges and in all entry cohorts responded in statistically significant numbers.

Appendices F through Q contain charts on a variety of survey responses, including disaggregation by colleges and resident status. Information is provided on response rates and validity (Appendix F and G), types of credit earned (Appendix H and I), format of ECC classes (location, instructors, and schedule) (Appendix J and K), factors affecting decision to take ECC (Appendix L and M), unintended outcomes of ECC (Appendix N, O, and P), and why students would recommended other students take ECC (Appendix Q). The summary of major findings from the student survey is provided below.

Experience Earning Credits in High School

Survey respondents first identified the types of ECC they earned. These included Advanced Placement (AP), 2-year college credit, 4-year college credit, International Baccalaureate (IB), and technical credit. The results are summarized below.

The majority of early credit is awarded by 2- and 4-year colleges.

Over 75% Iowa resident respondents earned credits from 2- or 4-year colleges o 73.2% from 2-year colleges o 4.1% from 4-year colleges

50% out-of-state respondents earned credits from 2- or 4-year colleges o 30.5% from 2-year colleges o 21.2% from 4-year colleges

Advanced Placement credits (AP) o 13.3% of Iowa resident respondents earned AP o 45% of out-of-state respondents earned AP o Engineering students entered with the most AP credits. This reflects the general

availability of AP tests in courses that comprise the Engineering Basic Program.

Students provided information about the format in which the ECC classes were offered.

Approximately 75% of the courses were taught by high school faculty during regular school hours in the high school. This is true for both in-state and out-of-state respondents. Courses could be offered as dual enrollment with a 2-year college or AP.

From 2008 to 2010 the percentage of students taking courses taught by college faculty in the high school increased slightly while the percentage of courses taught in the high schools by high school faculty decreased.

A small, but growing number of ECC courses were completed on-line, particularly by Iowa resident respondents.


The survey asked students to evaluate the influence of six factors in their decision to earn ECC. The factors were rated on a scale of 1 – 5 with 5 being most important. Both in-state and out-of-state respondents rated them as

Head start in college = 4.5

Save money = 4.1

Academic challenge = 4.0

Graduate on time = 3.6

Lighter class load = 3.3

Graduate in less than four years = 2.8 These responses reflect a desire for academic challenge, saving money, and graduating early.

Experience Applying Credits to Iowa State Degree

The next part of the survey dealt with unexpected consequences of ECC such as credits that do not apply to the student’s degree requirements, the need to repeat courses for better preparation, and not reducing time to graduation. Over half of the students reported that at least some of their coursework did not apply to their degree requirements. This could mean that ECC did not reduce time to degree and did not necessarily save money. Seventeen percent of the students repeated at least one ECC course at Iowa State. The responses were tracked by college and residency (see Appendix N to Appendix P).

Students who repeated ECC courses at Iowa State were more frequently in Engineering, Human Sciences, and Liberal Arts and Sciences. Advisers in science-intensive curricula in these colleges frequently recommend that students strengthen their understanding of foundation courses before proceeding.

Students reported that ECC had only a small effect on their decisions to enhance their academic experience after they arrived at Iowa State. When selecting a primary or secondary major, adding a minor, studying abroad, participating in an internship or research, the general response was 2.5 (scale of 1 – 5) (see Appendix M).

Open Ended Questions

The survey concluded with three open-ended questions requesting advice on ECC for future Iowa State students and Iowa State faculty, administrators, academic advisers, and staff.

Question 1: If you had the opportunity to redo your high school career, would you earn early college credit?” In spite of courses not applying and not reducing time to graduation, 97% of the students responded “yes”. They cited opportunities to add academic challenge to their high school courses and to enrich their college experience with additional courses or majors. The most common reason for ECC was it prepared them for college work.

Many of the responses recommended students complete general education classes prior to entering Iowa State, often using language about “getting general education done or out of the way”.

Question 2: What advice would you give to students earning college credit and planning to attend ISU? While the overwhelming answer was “Just do it”, more thoughtful comments recommended researching how the credits will be applied by Iowa State. Students advised either taking courses that met general education requirements or specific degree program requirements (72% of responses). They did not have


a consensus on how much credit should be taken. The remaining responses focused on the opportunity to explore and embrace academic challenge.

The students also provided cautions for their peers. The most frequent was to work hard to benefit from the preparation and a reminder that ECC creates an academic record for college. The remaining responses spoke from experience about how much harder Iowa State courses were than their ECC classes, suggesting that it is wise to repeat. A few students mentioned the challenge of starting their Iowa State career in an advanced course. Some respondents spoke strategically about taking hard classes as ECC to avoid lowering their Iowa State GPA.

Question 3: What advice would you give to Iowa State faculty, advisers, and administrators regarding the transition for students with ECC? The students who answered this question talked about the gap between what they learned in their ECC courses and where the sequential Iowa State course began. It is relevant to note that traditional transfer students may also experience a gap if they transfer in the middle of a course sequence. Student responses highlighted issues of course placement, transfer grade point averages and the effects of entering with sophomore classification or higher.

In general the students saw themselves as a special category. They mentioned that they may need some additional help when stepping into the advanced class to refresh their knowledge of material learned in ECC. They recommended assessing their readiness to continue with related advanced classes. They recognized that they have special advising needs to apply their coursework most beneficially and to place them in courses appropriately.


INSTITUTIONAL PERSPECTIVE AND IMPACT OF EARLY COLLEGE CREDIT STUDENTS

To gather the perspective of the Iowa State faculty and staff members related to the ECC issue and student experience, members of the Early Credit Task Force conducted 24 individual or small group interviews with faculty and staff across the Iowa State campus during the 2010-11 academic year. The groups/offices represented in the interviews included:

Academic advising committees from all six undergraduate colleges

Office of Admissions New

Student Programs

Department of Residence

Student Athlete Services

Student Financial Aid

University Honors Program

Learning Communities

College Scholarship Committee/ISU Foundation Course Availability Committee

Course Release Working Group

Office of the Registrar

University Career Services Council

Academic Success Center

Departments of Mathematics and English (Departments representing courses most frequently brought in by students)

Each group was asked to share its perspectives of the challenges and opportunities for the students and the institution associated with growing trend of early credit students. They also were asked to identify potential policy or process changes Iowa State should explore. Each group offered suggestions for what Iowa State might do differently to serve these students better. (Note: in addition to the highlights presented in this report, edited transcripts of responses from all interviews will be available at a later date. These will provide additional details associated with the items raised in the report and also concerns, benefits or suggestions for specific units/groups that do not have broad university impact.)

Faculty/Staff Perceptions of the ECC Student Experience

Challenges for students The challenges for students identified by faculty/staff were grouped into two major themes: 1) a lack of awareness/knowledge about the realistic application of ECC among K-12 students/families/counselors and 2) student development and academic success issues for students with ECC.

Lack of knowledge Faculty/staff members perceived that there was a general lack of knowledge among students and families about what constitutes ECC, how ECC actually would be applied towards a student’s degree, and how ECC might impact a student’s time to degree. For example, students/families don’t understand:

the difference between ECC being accepted by Iowa State and ECC being applied towards meeting degree requirements;

that time to degree may be determined more by required course sequencing than number of early college credits earned;


that there are multiple ways to earn college credit for the same ISU course and that students can only receive credit for the same ISU course once (e.g. earning English 150 credit through both ACT-E placement and community college credits);

that Iowa State must receive a transcript from another college to award college credit; and

that they are ethically obligated to report any and all college credit earned while in high school.

In addition it is not always clearly identified by high schools that a course will generate college credit. Students and families do not always recall correctly the arrangements with the high school regarding what institution granted the credit.

Student development and academic success issues Faculty/staff members identified several issues related to student development and student success that can arise for students who bring in ECC. These reflect faculty/staff perceptions, not necessarily what research data show. 1. Students with ECC tend to come into Iowa State overconfident of their potential success at Iowa

State based on their early credit experience. When early credit courses are taught by high school teachers, in the regular high school day/format, students may have the content of the college course but they have not actually taken a college course in a college environment. Nevertheless, many students think they know what college courses will be like.

2. There are still many maturity issues and developmental skills related to college success that students need to address. Although a student might be classified as a sophomore or junior, he/she is still experiencing his/her first year as a college student. If ECC students are placed into upper-level courses in their first year at Iowa State, they will be in classes with students who have been on a college campus for a couple of years and who have made those ‘adjustments to college’. The professors may also make some assumptions about the backgrounds/experiences of students in an upper-level course that may not be true for a first-year student

3. ECC accelerates students’ eligibility for scholarships or internships. They may, however, lack the experiences that typically accompany that number of credits, thus making them less competitive. For example they do not have the breadth or depth of extracurricular activities, undergraduate research, or leadership positions.

4. There are many ways that ECC might negatively impact student GPA (positive ways are mentioned in Benefits section)

a. If students have taken all the introductory courses in disciplines that they like (and might earn better grades), what is left to take at ISU are courses in their major and courses in disciplines they do not like as well, e.g. a social science major who only has science/math requirements left in the general education for the first semester at Iowa State.

b. Because Iowa State University does not include transfer grades in the cumulative grade point average, students are missing the potential of having grades in introductory/lower level courses included in their GPA.

5. Credit does not necessarily equate with competency. As a result students may not be adequately prepared for the higher-level courses that follow the coursework on their ECC transcript.

6. If undecided students have already taken most of their general education credits before entering Iowa State, they will need to select a major sooner or risk taking courses at Iowa State that will not apply towards their degree.

7. Students who take their general education requirements prior to ISU matriculation, may miss the opportunity to enroll in courses that better complement their full degree program.

8. The potential to take a light class load may create too much free time and encourage ineffective time management.


Benefits for students

Benefits for students perceived by faculty/staff members fell into three main categories: student financial savings, increase student opportunities, and improved academic success.

Financial Savings Faculty/staff identified the primary ‘perceived’ benefits to students as early graduation and the corresponding financial savings

Enhanced student experience and increased student academic opportunities The second benefit identified was that ECC gives students the opportunity to enhance their college experience and increase their academic opportunities. This may include adding minors or second majors, studying abroad, or participating in internships, while still graduating within 4 years. Students may also take lighter course loads, thus allowing more time for co-curricular activities or work.

Improved academic success Lastly, faculty and staff identified potential academic benefits of ECC. They cited effects such as increased confidence of students, making students think about college earlier in high school, empowering students to attempt college, and providing intellectual challenge. Some of the ECC courses are large introductory lectures at ISU. Students may connect better with the curriculum and the discipline in the smaller class venues offered by ECC.

Faculty/Staff Perceptions of the ECC Impact on Iowa State

Early college credit is also raising issues related to institutional practices, policies, and services. To determine existing or potential institutional impacts, the early credit task force used two methods to gather information: 1) interviews with faculty/staff and 2) review of institutional materials.

Faculty/Staff Interviews During the interviews faculty/staff were asked to share the challenges and benefits for the institution associated with the early credit trend and to identify potential policy or process changes that Iowa State should consider to serve these students more efficiently and effectively.

Challenges for the institution Institutional Language

Use of the term “Freshman” to categorize incoming students for scholarships, learning communities, admissions form, etc. can create confusion because students may be entering as sophomores or juniors.

Administrative Processes

Use of classification (or number of credits earned) in policies/processes such as scholarships, catalog policies, registration priorities, etc. may accelerate students into advanced categories. The effects can be positive (earlier registration date) or negative (limitation on scholarship eligibility because the student is a senior for more than 2 semesters).

Increased workload for ISU Admissions and Registrar’s staff.

ECC necessitates specialized advising, particularly in highly structured programs such as engineering when the ECC student does not fit the standard cohort. Transcripts for early credit


courses do not reach Iowa State prior to the students attending June Orientation. This may result in students registering for courses only to discover in the fall that they have credit for them.

Post Secondary Enrollment Option students attending ISU impact course availability in foundation classes such as English and Math. Some PSEO students are registering prior to current degree-seeking ISU students.

Admission challenges, such as a direct from high school student whose RAI is too low for admission but who is admissible as a transfer student (24 college credits with a 2.00).

Differential tuition may apply earlier in a student’s career at Iowa State.

Lack of academic options for first semester students • Difficulty in building appropriate first-semester schedule for students attending June Orientation.

Spaces are not reserved in advanced courses such as math and the sciences. Accurately forecasting Orientation needs of ECC students is difficult.

Learning communities

Students transfer foundation courses typically used in course-based learning communities. The student is then ineligible for the community or enrolls only in the learning community classes that he/she has not taken. Some learning communities have dropped their course clustering. Others offer a suite of courses because the coordinators can no longer find common courses needed by all incoming students.

Articulation Equivalency Issues

• There is a strong sense that not all courses that transfer in as equivalents are giving students the same educational experience: rigor/depth of coverage, content, and class format (year-long versus semester, courses taught in high school using high school format, etc.).

Institutional Financial Impact

If students are truly graduating in less time (especially less than four years) there is a potential negative impact to ISU in lost tuition revenue from students.

Students Not Using General Education Courses to Explore

Students entering with some or all of their general education requirements completed reduce the time available to explore majors and academic options if they want to graduate “on time”. This may negatively affect smaller departments whose majors/minors/certificates are discovered by students while meeting their general education requirements.

Benefits for the institution

• ECC may increase enrollment in programs that students typically choose as second majors.

Similarly ECC credits may increase participation in other academic programs like study abroad, internships, National Student Exchange, etc.

• ECC could increase (or improve) 4-year graduation rates


Suggestions and/or Potential Policy Changes Proposed by Faculty/Staff

Feedback from faculty and staff on recommendations for programmatic or policy changes based on the early credit trend fell into eight main categories:

1) The need to provide additional information to students, families and counselors. The specific content and potential avenues for sharing information with these constituencies varied based on the perspective of the individual/unit being represented. A sampling of topics and strategies is listed below.

Explaining the difference between credit and preparation for subsequent courses. Illustrating how students are using early credit to their advantage. Including task force data about time to graduation, study abroad, multiple majors, multiple internships, etc.

Explaining the processes for transferring various types of early credit – AP, IB, CLEP, dual enrollment – and encouraging early notification of Iowa State. Guidance on which courses might be most appropriate to be taken for early credit, depending on intended major.

Describing the ‘four-year experience’ – importance of co-curricular development, exploration of broad topics via general education courses, etc.

Helping students understand the differences in academic expectations between ECC taken in the high school vs. attending Iowa State.

Potential avenues for sharing: o EIS/campus visits/orientation, o early credit information nights at large feeder schools, o joint Regents publication possibly tied to the 8th grade planning folders, o conference for high school counselors hosted by Iowa State, o Admissions mailings, website, new brochure, etc.

2) The need to connect advisors to student and student information earlier. Participants thought

that students and the institution would benefit if ECC students particularly those with more than 6 credits) could connect with an ISU academic advisor earlier. It might include a structured program modeled after the current Admissions Partnership Program with the community colleges. Additional information associated with early credit could be gathered as a part of the admissions application.

3) The need for access to courses for appropriate first-semester schedules. Addressing this problem

might include improving the mix of courses available in June orientation, registering more early credit students in April when ‘transfer students’ register, and developing more first-semester learning community options for students with early credit.

4) The need to clarify language. The institution needs to increase the use of “first-year” and apply

“freshman” only when references to 30 credits or fewer is apropos. The need to educate the Iowa State community on the ECC trends, issues, and findings from this study.

5) The need to revisit all policies and processes that use number of credits earned/classification as a

decision criterion.

6) The need to review course-to-course articulation/equivalencies with community colleges.

Participants thought that although the course content may theoretically be the same, differences in student contact hours, method of delivery, standards for rigor/grading etc. may not produce


the same student outcomes/experiences and may not adequately prepare students for subsequent courses.

7) The need not to forget students who enter without early college credit. A new minority is

emerging of students who did not have access to or chose not to earn early college credit. As Iowa State develops programs/strategies to address the needs of ECC students, the University must be careful not to unintentionally put students without ECC at increased risk.

Review of Catalog and ISU Material

In addition to talking with individuals across the institution, task force members reviewed institutional materials (e.g. ISU Catalog, website, etc.) to identify institutional issues affected by the early credit trend. This includes any policies/processes that use the number of credits earned or academic classification as a determining factor.

Use of student classification (or credits earned) for policy or process issues Items within the curriculum/catalog that are based on number of credits or class standing:

Pass/Not Pass: Eligibility to take courses pass/not pass based on 40 semester credits earned

Academic Probation: Cum GPA applies to students with 75 or more credits

Satisfactory progress for Financial Aid Recipients: credits per year in school

Registration start date policies: based on number of credits

Drop limits: students who enter as ‘freshmen’ have five drops

Concurrent Graduate Degrees: well qualified juniors and seniors

Course prerequisites: In the 2009-2011 catalogs there were 545 courses that used classification or credits earned as a criterion. (Course listing is included as Appendix R.) Task force members also noted that there is no standardized language associated with the use of ‘classification’ as prerequisite.

Ability for undergraduates to take 500-level courses: ‘qualified undergraduate students’ in some departments is synonymous with junior/senior classification

Task force members shared the information with the Faculty Senate Curriculum Committee and the Faculty Senate Academic Standards and Admissions Committee. Discussion with these groups focused on the following questions:

In today’s environment, is the use of ‘classification’ or ‘credits earned’ still appropriate? If so, is the current number of required credits still appropriate?

Is there a different/more appropriate method? (e.g Completion of specific courses instead of classification for prerequisites or use of anticipated graduation term instead of credits earned for registration start dates.)

What is the academic rationale behind using a particular classification such as ‘sophomore classification’ as a prerequisite? Were there some assumptions made regarding ‘sophomore classification’ when it was implemented that are no longer true? If ‘classification’ is being used as course enrollment management technique, is there an alternative method/system that is more appropriate to manage enrollment?

Is there a common understanding of what defines ‘qualified’ or ‘well qualified’, beyond classification, for students associated with concurrent graduate student or 500-level courses?


Catalog in Effect Another policy area that potentially affects students with ECC is the “Catalog in Effect” policy. The current policy assigns direct-from-high-school admits the catalog in effect when they enter Iowa State. Transfer students may select an earlier catalog concurrent with their attendance at their previous institution. If students in high school are doing what advisors recommend and actually planning out their ECC courses to meet their degree requirements, they are planning based on graduation requirements for which they are not eligible.

Dual Counting Credits At present, college credits taken by a student while in high school can count for meeting both high school degree requirements and bachelor’s degree requirements. For example a dual credit course in senior English may count toward meeting ISU admissions criteria and be counted as the equivalent of English 150, part of the ISU basic composition requirement. Currently there are no limits/restrictions associated with double counting courses for high school and bachelor’s degree requirements at Iowa State. In contrast, Iowa State currently allows only 9 credits of graduate-level course work earned while an undergraduate to apply to a graduate degree. These credits must meet a minimum grade standard and must be in excess of the credits used to meet the bachelor’s degree requirements. The policy of double counting college credits towards meeting high school requirements is addressed in the Senior Year Plus section of the Iowa Code. Some states/institutions across the country have set limits on the number of double credits counted between high school and college degrees. Others will not apply college credits towards an undergraduate degree that were earned while in high school and are part of the high school transcript/diploma requirements.


INSTITUTIONAL CHANGES IN RESPONSE TO EARLY COLLEGE CREDIT TREND

Iowa State University has already begun responding to the ECC trend. Some of these changes were the result of discussions with task force members and others were initiated by groups prior to task force involvement. As this report is being prepared other changes, including some of the task force recommendations, are being implemented. The list below highlights some of the changes already in place.

1. The 2011 Learning Community Institute and the 2010 Academic Advising Summit included

presentations by task force members on the Early College Credit. 2. Honors has changed “Freshman Honors Program” to “First-Year” Honors program. 3. LAS college orientation and prospective student visit presentations acknowledge the fact that

over half of the students attending will already have some college credit and encourage seeking early academic advising.

4. The Office of Admissions, with input from the task force, has developed a new piece for inclusion in the prospective student letter stream that provides information for students entering with college credit.

5. The course release for June orientation in 2011 was revised to include Math 265 (a typical sophomore level course).

6. The College of Engineering revised its Differential Tuition Policy for juniors and seniors, to accommodate students with ECC who enter ISU as sophomores/juniors. Under the initial policy, students with significant ECC could have been charged differential tuition during their first two years at Iowa State, even though they were typically not enrolled in junior/senior level engineering courses. The current policy looks at the student’s classification and entry term.

Direct from high school students with ECC are not charged differential tuition until their 5th

semester at Iowa State. 7. The Registrar’s Office is now running a query to find first-term students who are enrolled in a

class for which they have already earned college credit. This began in Fall 2011. 8. The task force has developed preliminary data tables that can be used to track issues long-term. 9. The task force has developed a research base related to ECC that a variety of groups can use to

implement institutional changes moving forward.


OBSERVATIONS, CONCLUSIONS, AND FURTHER RESEARCH

When looking across all the data sources, surveys, and interviews, the task force has identified some additional observations, conclusions and recommendations for continued research. This listing is not meant to be inclusive of all data and findings represented in the report.

Observations

The moderate impact of ECC credits on time to degree may be explained by the fact that ECC students are more likely to pursue minors and second majors than their non-ECC peers.

Some students may earn second majors or minors because their primary majors lock them into a time frame of sequenced courses. To maintain full-time status they may choose to invest in courses that provide another major or a minor.

Because students may repeat one or more ECC courses at Iowa State in the end they may not save time or money.

Some issues with application of credit may be expected because students’ choice of major is very fluid between grade 10 and the second-year of college.

Limited ECC course choices may also affect whether ECC courses apply to graduation and consequently whether time to degree is reduced.

The additional flexibility which ECC provides may result in students changing their goal from graduating early to graduating with additional majors, minors, and/or certificates.

A partial explanation of the gap that students reported between where an ECC courses ended and the Iowa State sequel begins may be a gap in student development. Undeveloped study skills, less practice with being an independent learner, the pace of the course, and balancing a full load of college courses instead of just one or two are transition issues faced by most students entering the University.

In reference to observations about the dosage effect increasing the chance of graduating in four years, this may be more a reflection of student personality. Students who are motivated to take early credit may also be motivated to make academic decisions at Iowa State that facilitate graduation in 4 years. They looked for enrichment in high school and continue that search in college.

Conclusions

Research supports that one benefit of ECC is earlier graduation, depending on the major and how well ECC courses satisfy graduation requirements.

Research supports the perception that ECC allows students more flexibility to incorporate academic opportunities – second majors/curricula, minors, certificates, study abroad – into their program of study.

Research supports that for many of the academic success measures (e.g. higher first term and first-year GPAs and one- and two-year retention), provided a student has some ECC, there is no significant benefit gained by taking increasing amounts of ECC.

Students who have taken ECC overwhelming would ‘do it again’ to ‘better prepare’ themselves for the rigors of college, even if they end up repeating courses at Iowa State or the courses do not directly apply or shorten their time to graduation.


There are numerous institutional policies, processes and programmatic efforts that need to be reviewed and potentially changed to accommodate better the success of ECC students and the institution’s ability to serve them efficiently.

There is a need to educate students, parents, counselors and the ISU community about the ‘realities’ of how ECC is used and its impact on students success and progress.

Further Research

There is a need for the institution to continue to monitor the ECC trend and success of ECC

For some areas showing differences (e.g. minority student participation in AP courses) there is an opportunity to delve further into the root causes behind the differences (e.g. is it access to AP courses in their particular high school, lack of parental/family support or involvement, academic preparation, etc.).

There is an opportunity to partner with the Iowa Department of Education and Iowa Community Colleges to collect additional data on the timing, location, and delivery method of dual enrollment classes for the purpose of investigating factors that influence student success.


RECOMMENDATIONS

The purpose of the Early Credit Task Force was to determine the impact/scope of the ECC issue and to make recommendations for future actions the institution might take to respond to this growing trend. Rather than recommending a new on-going committee focused on ECC, the task force developed recommendations that identify responsibility for action within existing university committees or units. There are a few recommendations (related to continued research and dissemination) where task force members will continue to be actively involved. The task force members are also willing to serve as a resource to other units identified within the recommendations. The task force submits the following list of prioritized recommendations for consideration by the institution.

1) The Office of Admissions, in collaboration with representatives from the task force, the

University Academic Advising Committee, and college student services offices, should develop an education plan for raising awareness among families, students, and high school counselors on issues related to early credit.

Strategies for reaching out to these groups might include hosting informational sessions or a conference, addressing ECC in recruitment materials/programs, etc. The task force recommends collaborating with ISU academic advisers and K-12 guidance counselors on format, content, audience, and outreach strategies.

Topics to be addressed should include those issues brought to light via the research of the task force o Benefits of early planning o Credit accepted versus credit applied to degree o Various options for early credit o Success of students with early credit o Suggested strategies for early credit course selections (based on ISU majors/colleges) o Credit versus preparation for subsequent courses o How students use early credit to their advantage at ISU (time to degree and enhancing

education experiences) o Students with ECC still experience transition issues common to other first-year students

2) The findings from this report should be disseminated throughout Iowa State University and the

broader higher education community, including but not limited to a discussion at President’s Council, presentations at Iowa State advising and retention summits, and presentations at regional and national conferences. ECC impacts all academic colleges and many units across campus; therefore, it is important to raise awareness of the issues and results from the task force broadly across the Iowa State community. Also, since there is limited research on this issue that is affecting most colleges across the country, the findings of task force provide an opportunity for Iowa State to serve as a national leader in research on the ECC issue.

3) Iowa State should continue to monitor students with early credit and periodically assess the

impact of ECC on those students and the ISU community. • The Office of the Registrar should continue to track and report annually the Early Credit

statistics to the Undergraduate Programs Council. • Additional research: The student survey subcommittee plans to conduct focus groups during

the 2011-12 academic year to gather additional insights into the student experience, based on the findings of the survey of students conducted in spring 2011.


• The Undergraduate Programs Council should monitor the implementation of recommendations from this task force.

4) Faculty Senate Academic Affairs Council should coordinate a review of the curriculum and

policy issues identified by the task force through appropriate Faculty Senate Committees, and corresponding college and departmental level committees.

review policies and course prerequisite issues identified by the task force • discuss the value and outcomes of general education • review the relationship between course credit, academic preparation and placement testing

5) ISU units identified in the report should revise and enhance ISU programs and materials to

address better the needs of students entering with early credit, while continuing to meet the needs of students entering without early credit.

Office of Admissions: Admissions/recruiting websites and communication streams with families.

New Student and Campus Visit Programs: Experience Iowa State Days and Daily Visit programs/presentations, Destination Iowa State, and Orientation programs.

Learning Communities: Convene a group of coordinators to clarify the future/vision of learning communities at Iowa State, as communities struggle with the use of common courses.

6) The Office of the Registrar, Office of Admissions, and Office the Executive Vice President and

Provost should work within appropriate committee structures (Course Availability, Registration Classification Committee, Undergraduate Programs Council, etc.) on process issues identified in the report to reduce negative effects that may be associated with students earning early credit.

Difficulties in building course schedules for students in June

Modeling/prediction of course enrollments/needs

Timing of when ISU/advisors know about credit students are bringing in with them

Revising processes to handle increased workload

Reviewing the use of the term ‘freshman’ to identify incoming students from high school (e.g. admission, scholarships, residence halls, etc.)

Reviewing how students are handled who are not admissible as direct from high school students (RAI) but are admissible under the transfer student policies.

Reviewing the current processes for handling high school students we serve/teach as a part of senior year plus (e.g. timelines for registering students, course availability impacts, advising/recruitment of students, etc.)

7) The ISU Foundation, in collaboration with the appropriate ISU administrative units, should

review scholarship Memoranda of Agreement and initiate discussions with donors, as appropriate, for scholarships currently using classification as a criterion.

8) ISU should continue to expand and enhance the faculty-to-faculty discussions on course

equivalencies and articulation between ISU faculty and Iowa Community College faculty. The fastest growing type of ECC is from college courses taken through Iowa’s Community Colleges. Therefore the smooth articulation between community colleges and Iowa State is an important part of the success of ECC students.


9) Unit administrators of key process and student contact areas (Academic advising, Office of Admissions, Office of the Registrar, college student services offices, etc.) should review staff sizing/configurations to determine if staffing levels are appropriate to manage increased workloads associated with early credit students.


Appendix A. Summary of Early Credits by College CALS DSGN ENGR HSCI BUS LAS Total

2000 Students with Credit Median Credits per Student* % of Students with Credit**

2001 Students with Credit

Median Credits per Student % of Students with Credit














Median Credits per Student

% of Students with Credit

2009 Students with Credit Median Credits per Student % of Students with Credit



170 6.5

37%

171 6.0

38%

162 8.0

42%

179 8.0

49%

169 8.0

50%

217 9.0

54%

247 9.0

56%

290 11.0 63%

331 11.0

64%

391 13.0 67%

430 13.0 69%

125 6.0

30%

143 6.0

34%

154 6.0

36%

172 7.0

39%

202 8.0

44%

186 8.0

43%

187 9.0

46%

218 9.0

46%

245 10.0

54%

238 11.0 57%

238 11.0 61%

438 7.0

42%

525 7.0

42%

536 9.0

48%

584 9.0

55%

583 10.0 55%

567 10.0 58%

626 11.0 59%

714 12.0 60%

741 11.0

60%

829 12.0 64%

908 14.0 65%

91 6.0

27%

121 6.0

36%

130 6.0

37%

160 7.0

48%

154 8.0

52%

149 9.0

45%

185

11.0 52%

228

10.0 55%

267

11.0

57%

253 12.0 62%

298

12.0 62%

140 7.0

30%

204 6.0

35%

180 9.0

37%

188 9.0

44%

188 8.0

42%

210 10.0 48%

224 10.0 47%

242 11.0 48%

224 12.0

41%

228 13.0 54%

197 13.0 50%

492 6.0

32%

551 7.0

35%

632 9.0

43%

578 9.0

46%

543 8.0

48%

564 9.0

47%

619 10.0 50%

692 11.0 53%

718 12.0

54%

718 13.0 59%

763 13.0 60%

1,456 6.0

34%

1,715

7.0 37%

1794

8.0 43%

1,861

9.0 48%

1,839

9.0 49%

1,893

9.0 50%

2,088

10.0 52%

2,384

11.0 55%

2,526

12.0

56%

2,657 12.0 61%

2,834

13.0 62%

* Mean and Median are just for students with early credit ** Number of students with credit divided by the total number of new students


Appendix B. Demographics of ECC Students by College

CALS DSGN ENGR HSCI BUS LAS Total Entering Class 2000 Students with Credit

% Iowa Resident % Female % U.S. Ethnic Minority

2001 Students with Credit % Iowa Resident % Female % U.S. Ethnic Minority


% Iowa Resident % Female % U.S. Ethnic Minority









170 79% 54%

4%

171 86% 54%

1%

162

83% 61%

2%

179 89% 47%

2%

169 85% 54%

2%

217 88% 52%

4%

247 87% 55%

4%

290 85% 54%

3%

331 80% 60%

5%

391 82% 57%

3%

430 83% 57%

7%

125 84% 63%

4%

143 71% 58%

4%

154

73% 56%

6%

172 79% 63%

5%

202 73% 61%

5%

186 75% 55%

8%

187 75% 54% 10%

218 82% 55%

9%

245 76% 57%

8%

238 73% 60%

6%

238 68% 61% 10%

438 62% 18%

7%

525 62% 16% 10%

536

70% 19%

8%

584 68% 18%

7%

583 72% 17%

8%

567 71% 16%

6%

626 70% 17%

6%

714 67% 16%

6%

741 65% 16%

7%

829 64% 18% 10%

908 62% 17%

8%

91 90% 82%

3%

121 84% 89%

7%

130

85% 84%

9%

160 84% 85%

6%

154 88% 89%

6%

149 86% 85%

3%

185 81% 88%

6%

228 82% 86%

6%

267 80% 82%

9%

253 86% 86%

7%

298 82% 85%

6%

140 88% 44%

8%

204 86% 50%

6%

180

86% 47%

6%

188 91% 50%

9%

188 89% 46% 10%

210 88% 45% 10%

224 85% 44% 10%

242 85% 48%

7%

224 82% 52%

5%

228 85% 46%

7%

197 75% 47%

9%

492 80% 58%

9%

551 76% 60%

7%

632

80% 63%

7%

578 80% 57% 10%

543 82% 56%

8%

564 81% 56%

8%

619 82% 63% 11%

692 83% 61%

8%

718 81% 59% 10%

718 81% 64% 11%

763 78% 61% 11%

1,456 76% 46%

7%

1,715 74% 47%

7%

1,794

77% 49%

7%

1,861 79% 46%

7%

1,839 79% 46%

7%

1,893 79% 44%

7%

2,088 78% 47%

8%

2,384 79% 47%

7%

2,526 76% 48%

8%

2,657 76% 49%

8%

2,834 73% 48%

9%

4,260 73.5% 44.9%

7.7%

4,596 71.0% 45.1%

8.8%

4,217

72.2% 46.0%

8.8%

3,897 73.5% 43.6%

9.0%

3,729 72.5% 43.8%

9.4%

3,770 73.0% 43.4%

9.5%

3,983 70.9% 45.0% 10.1%

4,347 69.3% 44.4%

9.6%

4,545 63.8% 45.9%

9.9%

4,356 65.8% 45.7% 10.7%

4,552 62.8% 45.8% 11.0%


Appendix C. Academic Characteristics and Outcomes of ECC Students

N

Entering Characteristics

ISU 1

st

Sem GPA

Retention Rates

Graduation Rates

Years to Degree*

Entry Year

ACT HS Score Rank

1-Yr 2-Yr 3-Yr

3-Yr 4-Yr 5-Yr 6-Yr

2000 0 1 to 6 7 to 10 11 to 18 19 +

2811

736 275 294 152

23.6 70.6 25.0 78.1 25.7 79.3 26.3 81.7 28.3 86.2

2.52 2.73 2.85 2.93 3.07

82% 72% 68% 85% 77% 75% 86% 81% 78% 89% 86% 82% 91% 84% 81%

0% 27% 57% 63% 1% 34% 64% 70% 1% 38% 69% 74% 3% 46% 71% 77% 7% 54% 77% 81%

4.5 4.4 4.4 4.3 4.1

2001 0 1 to 6 7 to 10 11 to 18 19 +

2884

847 336 342 190

23.7 71.2 24.9 77.0 25.7 80.2 25.6 80.4 27.7 83.8

2.57 2.77 2.93 2.93 3.08

81% 70% 67% 86% 78% 75% 90% 81% 78% 89% 80% 77% 91% 86% 83%

0% 27% 56% 62% 1% 34% 65% 69% 1% 41% 71% 75% 1% 43% 70% 74%

10% 59% 80% 82%

4.5 4.4 4.3 4.3 4.1

2002 0 1 to 6 7 to 10 11 to 18 19 +

2426

745 398 436 215

23.6 70.5 24.7 76.2 25.5 78.6 25.9 80.5 27.8 86.1

2.59 2.83 2.90 2.92 3.14

82% 72% 68% 86% 78% 74% 86% 80% 76% 90% 85% 82% 89% 83% 80%

0% 28% 58% 63% 0% 36% 65% 71% 1% 40% 70% 74% 3% 47% 75% 79%

10% 52% 75% 79%

4.5 4.4 4.4 4.3 4.1

2003 0 1 to 6 7 to 10 11 to 18 19 +

2038

742 364 477 279

23.6 70.8 25.0 78.1 25.7 80.4 25.7 80.9 27.2 84.4

2.60 2.89 2.94 2.96 3.08

81% 73% 68% 87% 81% 77% 85% 81% 77% 92% 87% 82% 93% 89% 85%

0% 28% 59% 64% 1% 40% 70% 74% 1% 41% 71% 75% 3% 50% 77% 79% 8% 50% 78% 82%

4.5 4.4 4.4 4.2 4.2

2004 0 1 to 6 7 to 10 11 to 18 19 +

1890

721 362 474 285

23.7 70.2 25.0 77.5 25.6 80.8 25.3 79.9 27.3 83.7

2.48 2.84 2.89 2.92 3.14

82% 73% 69% 88% 81% 78% 91% 83% 83% 91% 87% 84% 92% 89% 87%

0% 28% 59% 63% 1% 43% 71% 75% 1% 48% 77% 81% 2% 47% 78% 81% 6% 52% 78% 83%

4.5 4.3 4.3 4.3 4.2

2005 0 1 to 6 7 to 10 11 to 18 19 +

1880

662 396 492 342

23.5 69.8 24.7 77.5 25.2 78.5 25.1 79.9 26.3 83.0

2.45 2.78 2.84 2.88 2.89

79% 69% 66% 87% 79% 75% 89% 84% 80% 88% 84% 80% 89% 85% 84%

0% 25% 55% 60% 0% 36% 69% 73% 1% 41% 73% 77% 2% 48% 73% 77% 9% 52% 77% 79%

4.5 4.4 4.4 4.3 4.1

2006 0 1 to 6

7 to 10 11 to 18 19 +

1896

698

402 561 429

23.6 70.3 24.4 76.5

25.0 78.6 25.4 80.2 26.8 84.6

2.47 2.74

2.86 2.90 3.08

80% 70% 67% 88% 81% 78%

92% 86% 83% 87% 81% 78% 90% 86% 83%

0% 30% 56% 0% 41% 70%

1% 45% 75% 2% 46% 73% 7% 60% 80%


Appendix C (continued)

N

Entering Characteristics

ISU 1

st

Sem GPA

Retention Rates

Graduation Rates

Years to Degree*

Entry Year

ACT HS Score Rank

1-Yr 2-Yr 3-Yr

3-Yr 4-Yr 5-Yr 6-Yr

2007

0 1 to 6 7 to 10 11 to 18 19 +

1970

698 446 652 582

23.4 68.8 24.8 76.3 25.2 78.5 25.1 78.9 26.5 83.0

2.43 2.75 2.79 2.85 3.03

79% 68% 65% 86% 78% 74% 87% 80% 77% 88% 83% 79% 91% 88% 86%

0% 27% 1% 38% 0% 41% 2% 47% 8% 56%

2008 0 1 to 6 7 to 10 11 to 18 19 +

2022

712 461 728 624

23.5 68.6 24.8 76.2 25.2 78.8 25.4 79.5 26.8 83.5

2.42 2.68 2.80 2.88 3.06

78% 69% 65% 87% 80% 77% 88% 82% 79% 88% 82% 80% 91% 86% 84%

0% 1% 1% 2% 7%

2009 0 1 to 6 7 to 10 11 to 18 19 +

1697

664 448 782 765

23.8 70.2 24.7 75.6 25.2 78.8 25.3 80.3 26.5 82.1

2.44 2.75 2.82 2.90 3.03

81% 70% 89% 82% 86% 82% 90% 84% 91% 85%

2010 0 1 to 6 7 to 10 11 to 18 19 +

1720

695 456 741 942

23.6 69.3 25.2 75.3 25.2 76.4 25.2 79.1 26.6 83.0

2.48 2.75 2.83 2.85 3.02

84% 88% 89% 91% 91%

*Only for those graduating within 6 years

Appendix D. Average Changes in Outcomes Over Time by Early Credit Quartile

Measure No ECC 1-6 credits 7-10 credits 11-18 credits 19+ credits

First Fall Hours

completed

2002 - 2005 2006 - 2009 2002 - 2005 2006 - 2009 2002 - 2005 2006 - 2009 2002 - 2005 2006 - 2009 2002 - 2005 2006 - 2009

13.9 13.9 13.9 13.9 14.0 14.0 14.0 13.9 14.1 14.0

First Fall GPA * 2.54 2.46 2.84 2.73 2.88 2.81 2.92 2.88 3.05 3.05

First Year GPA 2.60 2.57 2.86 2.79 2.90 2.88 2.95 2.93 3.07 3.08

First Year Retention 82% 80% 88% 88% 89% 88% 92% 89% 91% 91%

Time to degree 4.3 - 4.2 - 4.1 - 4.0 - 4.0 -

N 8,022 7,919 2,775 2,765 1,466 1,753 1,819 2,713 1,093 2,396

Numbers i n BOLD repres ent s i gnfi ca ntl y l ower va l ues


13.9

13.7

14.2

13.7

14.1

13.7

14.0

13.7

14.0

13.6

2.61 2.48 2.88 2.77 2.9 2.88 2.94 2.88 2.93 2.98

2.58 2.51 2.82 2.82 2.84 2.84 2.90 2.89 2.90 3.04

85% 80% 90% 88% 89% 90% 96% 90% 91% 90%

4.1 - 4.0 - 4.0 - 3.8 - 3.6 -

758 764 297 364 148 236 186 354 90 302

13.0 12.8 13.3 12.4 13.1 12.7 13.3 12.4 13.1 12.7

2.58 2.54 2.88 2.75 2.87 2.79 2.91 2.79 3.08 3.04

2.61 2.65 2.85 2.8 2.86 2.89 2.92 2.84 3.05 3

81% 81% 88% 85% 90% 88% 92% 91% 94% 91%

4.2 - 4.1 - 3.9 - 3.8 - 3.7 -

1011 1162 289 267 144 157 205 266 113 227

13.6 13.9 13.6 13.7 13.2 13.6 13.4 13.2 12.7 13.1

2.55 2.48 2.87 2.77 2.89 2.85 3.03 2.86 2.89 3.04

2.63 2.59 2.93 2.85 2.94 2.93 3.09 2.94 3.05 3.1

79% 82% 85% 92% 94% 90% 92% 88% 93% 91%

4.4 - 4.2 - 4.3 - 4.3 - 4.2 -

1047 905 327 288 146 192 155 234 75 171

13.6 13.4 13.8 13.7 13.9 13.6 13.7 13.7 13.8 13.8

2.51 2.46 2.86 2.65 2.9 2.81 2.89 2.94 3.08 3.09

2.59 2.57 2.86 2.73 2.92 2.88 2.94 2.97 3.1 3.11

85% 84% 93% 90% 92% 90% 94% 92% 92% 93%

4.6 - 4.5 - 4.3 - 4.3 - 4.2 -

1821 1932 713 800 444 539 524 777 447 787

13.1 13.0 13.2 13.2 13.0 13.3 13.3 13.0 13.3 13.0

2.7 2.6 2.85 2.92 2.85 2.93 2.9 2.94 2.94 3.15

2.72 2.67 2.9 2.93 2.87 2.96 2.96 2.96 2.98 3.12

82% 79% 86% 87% 85% 86% 94% 88% 86% 89%

4.1 - 3.9 - 3.9 - 3.8 - 3.7 -

702 729 255 267 116 157 151 297 50 209

13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.4 13.5 13.4

2.48 2.36 2.79 2.69 2.86 2.74 2.9 2.85 3.08 3.01

2.55 2.5 2.83 2.78 2.89 2.84 2.94 2.91 3.09 3.08

80% 75% 86% 85% 85% 85% 88% 86% 88% 89%

4.3 - 4.1 - 4.0 - 3.9 - 3.8 -

2683 2427 894 779 468 472 598 785 318 700

Appendix E. Success measures by college and early credit levels

Col l ege

Measure

No ECC 1-6 credits 7-10 credits 11-18 credits 19+ credits

CALS

Fi rs t Fa l l Hours

compl eted

Fi rs t Fa l l GPA

Fi rs t Year GPA

Fi rs t Year Retenti on

Years to degree

N

2002 - 2005 2006 - 2009 2002 - 2005 2006 - 2009 2002 - 2005 2006 - 2009 2002 - 2005 2006 - 2009 2002 - 2005 2006 - 2009

Bus i nes s


compl eted

Fi rs t Fa l l GPA

Fi rs t Year GPA


Years to degree

N

Des i gn

Engi neeri ng


compl eted

Fi rs t Fa l l GPA

Fi rs t Year GPA


Years to degree

N


compl eted

Fi rs t Fa l l GPA

Fi rs t Year GPA


Years to degree

N

Human Sci ences


compl eted

Fi rs t Fa l l GPA

Fi rs t Year GPA


Years to degree

N

LAS


compl eted

Fi rs t Fa l l GPA

Fi rs t Year GPA


Years to degree

N



Appendix F. Student Survey Participation by College

Survey Completion

College Completed

Survey

Did not

complete

survey

CALS 16% 15%

Design 10% 9%

ENGR 30% 31%

Human Sci 11% 10%

Business 7% 9%

LAS 27% 26%

DATA from 4,000 randomly selected students w/ 6+ ECC with Entry Fall 2008-2010


Appendix G. Validity Check - Student Response Information Compared to Registrar Data

Response/Registrar’s Data

Registrar's Reported Entry Date on Survey

Entry Date 2008 2009 2010

2008

223

1 0

2009 1

288

1

2010 1 4

406

ECC credits reported by survey respondents Registrar's ECC

on record 6-15 16-30 31-45

credits credits credits 45+ credits

6-15 credits

88.16

6.39 2.59 5.71

16-30 credits 11.11

87.78

14.66 0

31-45 credits 0.72 5.83

76.72

11.43

45+ credits 0 0 6.03

82.86


Pe

rce

nt

60

0

20

40

80

100

Appendix H. Types of Credit Earned by Resident Type

Types of credit earned

Percentage of Early College Credits Earned by Type (Registrar's data)

Non-Iowan Iowan

1.7

21.2

9.4

30.5

73.2

45.4

13.3

IB credit AP credit 2-year credit

4-year credit Tech credit

Source: Iowa State University Early Credit Task Force, 2011


Pe

rce

nt

0 20 4

0 6

0 8

0100

0 20 4

0 6

0 8

0100

Appendix I. Types of Credit Earned by Resident Type by College

Type by college & residence

Percentage of Early College Credits Earned by Type (Registrar's data)

CALS Business Design

Non-Iowan Iowan Non-Iowan Iowan Non-Iowan Iowan

ENGR Hum Sci LAS

Non-Iowan Iowan Non-Iowan Iowan Non-Iowan Iowan

IB credit AP credit 2-year credit

4-year credit Tech credit



Appendix J. Format of Early College Credit – Location, Instructor, and Schedule by Resident Status

Format of ECC classes

College faculty, taught on campus

during regular school hours


outside regular school hours

College faculty, taught in high school


College faculty, taught in high school,


High school teacher, taught during

regular school hours

High school teacher, taught outside

school hours

Other format, most frequently on-line

In what format were your dual credit classes offered?

(by residency)

2.0

2.0

0 20 40 60 80 Percentage

Non-Iowan Iowan



Appendix K. Format of Early College Credit – Location, Instructor, and Schedule by Entry Year

Class format by year In what format were your dual credit classes offered?

(by Entry Year)



College faculty, taught on campus,


College faculty, taught in high

school, during regular school hours

College faculty, taught in high school,


High school teacher taught during


High school teacher taught outside


Other format, most frequently on-line

4.3

1.6

0 20 40 60 80 Percentage

2008 2009 2010



Import

ance

Appendix L. Factors Important in Choice to Earn Early College Credit

Factors in choice to earn ECC

How important were the following factors in your decision to earn ECC?

5

4 4.0

3

4.5

4.1

2.8

3.6

3.3

2

1

Academic challenge Head start on college

Save money Graduate < 4 years

Graduate on time Lighter class load



Import

ance

Appendix M. Importance of Factors on Decision to Earn Early College Credit

Importance of ECC on decisions

How important was ECC in influencing the following decisions?

5

4

3

2.6

2

2.2

2.6 2.5 2.6

2.3

1

Select a major Add second major Add minor(s)

Study abroad Plan for internship Participate in research


Pe

rce

nt

Appendix N. Unintended Outcomes from Early College Credit

Unintended outcomes

Which of the following were unintended outcomes related to ECC?

60

50 50.9

40

37.0 30

40.3

20

17.2 10

20.6

0

Repeated course Didn't apply to

requirements for

major or college;

Didn't apply

to graduation

Didn't reduce degree time counted toward

electives

Didn't save

money



Pe

rce

nt

Appendix O. Unintended Outcomes from Early College Credit by College

Unintended outcomes by college


CALS Business Design

80

60

40

20

0 Non-Iowan Iowan Non-Iowan Iowan Non-Iowan Iowan

ENGR Hum Sci LAS

80

60

40

20

0 Non-Iowan Iowan Non-Iowan Iowan Non-Iowan Iowan

Repeated

course

Didn't reduce degree

time

Didn't apply to

requirements for major or

college; elective credit

only

Didn't apply to graduation Didn't save money



Pe

rce

nt

Appendix P. Unintended Outcomes from Early College Credit by Resident Status

Unintended outcome by residence


Non-Iowan Iowan

60

50 54.7

49.7

40

30

20 23.4

10

41.1 42.5

25.2

15.4

35.7

39.6

19.2

0

Repeated

course

Didn't reduce degree

time

Didn't apply to

requirements for major or

college; elective credit

only

Didn't apply to graduation

Didn't save money



Appendix Q. Why Students would Recommend ECC to other students - Top Themes from Open Ended Question

Why current students would recommend ECC to others

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Head Time Add/Flex Out Money Light Prep

Head = head start

Time = reduced/will reduce time to graduation

Add/Flex = allowed flexibility (additional major/minor, course

choice, etc)

Out = allowed to “get out” of certain requirements/ courses

Money = saved/ will save money

Light = allowed lighter course loads

Prep = prepared student for college work



Appendix R. Listing of courses that use classification as a prerequisite (2009-11 catalog)

Dept Course Prerequisite

A E 201 Sophomore classification in A E, AST, BSE or ITec

A E 388 Junior classification in engineering

A E

411

A E 216 or equivalent, Math 160 or 165, one of Chem 167 or higher, Biol 173 or 211 or higher or BRT 501, senior or graduate classification

A E

424

Either Phys 221 or Chem 178 and either Math 166 or 3 credits in statistics. Senior classification or above

A E

511


A E

524

Either Phys 221 or Chem 178 and either Math 166 or 3 credits in statistics. Senior classification or above or permission of instructor

ACCT 215 Sophomore classification

ACCT 284 15 hours of credit at ISU or sophomore standing

ACCT 490 285, senior classification, permission of instructor

ADVRT 301 230 or Jl MC 220; Sophomore classification

ADVRT 435 Permission of instructor, Junior/senior standing strongly recommended

AER E 290 Sophomore classification, approval of the department

AER E 490 Junior or senior classification, approval of the department

AER E 499 Senior classification, credit or enrollment in 491

AESHM 311 Sophomore classification. Good academic standing

AESHM 438 HRI 193, AESHM 275 or 287; junior classification

AESHM 474 junior or senior status

AF AM 353 Sophomore classification

AF AM 354 Sophomore classification

AGEDS 215 Sophomore classification

AGEDS

298

Permission of the department cooperative education coordinator; sophomore classification

AGEDS

398

Permission of the department cooperative education coordinator; junior classification

AGEDS 412 211, junior classification in AgEds and permission of instructor

AGEDS 418 211, junior classification, permission of instructor

AGEDS 450 Econ 235, Econ 330, junior classification

AGEDS 451 Senior classification

AGEDS 490 Junior or senior classification, permission of instructor

AGEDS

498

Permission of the department cooperative education coordinator; senior classification

AGRON 210 Sophomore classification

AGRON

298

Permission of department cooperative education coordinator, sophomore classification

AGRON 342 Junior classification

AGRON

398

Permission of department cooperative education coordinator; junior classification

AGRON

402

Four courses in physical or biological sciences or engineering; junior standing


AGRON

404


AGRON 410 Senior classification

AGRON

446

3-credit biology course, Sophomore or higher classification, permission of Instructor

AGRON

490

Junior or senior classification with at least 8 credits in agronomy; permission of instructor in specialty area after consultation

AGRON 497 Jr. or Sr. classification with at least 8 credits in Agronomy

AGRON

498

Permission of department cooperative education coordinator; senior classification

AGRON

504

Four courses in physical or biological sciences or engineering; junior, senior, or graduate standing

AGRON 509 Senior or above classification

AGRON 551 Junior or senior or graduate classification or permission of instructor

AM IN 426 Junior classification

AN S 211 114, sophomore classification

AN S 305 Junior classification; An S 270 recommended

AN S 306 sophomore classification or permission of instructor

AN S 311 Junior classification in An S

AN S 321 An S 114; junior classification

AN S 335 Sophomore classification

AN S 411 Senior classification in An S

AN S 321L An S 319; credit or concurrent enrollment in An S 321; junior classification

ANTHR 257 Sophomore standing

ANTHR 434 Junior or senior standing

ANTHR 491 Senior classification in Anthropology

ANTHR 509 Senior or above classification

ARCH 420 Junior classification







ARCH 519 Graduate or senior standing

ARCH 527 Senior classification or graduate standing

ARCH 528 Arch 221, 222 or senior classification or graduate standing

ARCH 529 Graduate or senior standing

ARCH 567 Senior classification



ARCH 583 Senior or graduate standing


ARCH 598 senior or graduate standing


ARTIS

399

Junior classification in Art and Design BFA curriculum. Required of all ISA BFA students

ARTIS 499 399 and senior classification in the Art and Design BFA Curriculum

BBMB

490

College of Agriculture: junior or senior classification and permission of instructor; College of Liberal Arts and Sciences: permission of instructor

BCBIO 490 BCBIO 211, junior or senior classification, permission of instructor

BCBIO 491 BCBIO 211, junior or senior classification, permission of instructor

BIOE

411


BIOL 351 212, junior classification

BIOL

498

Junior classification and permission of the department cooperative education coordinator

BPM I

398

Permission of the program cooperative education coordinator, junior classification

BPM I

497

Junior or senior classification in BPM I, written approval of supervising instructor and advisory committee chair on required form in advance of semester of enrollment

BRT

511

A E 216 or equivalent, Math 160 or 165, one of Chem 167 or higher, Biol 101 or higher or BRT 501, senior or graduate classification

BSE 201 Sophomore classification in AE, AST, BSE, or I Tec

BSE

411


BSE

511


BUSAD

490

490A: Mgmt 414, Mkt 448, LSCM 466 or Fin 380; senior classification, permission of instructor; for 490H: Admission to the Business Honors Program

C E 350 3 credits in statistics, junior classification

C E 388 Junior classification in engineering

C E

411


C E

424


C E

511


C E

524


C E

574

4 courses in natural, biological or engineering sciences and senior or above classification

C I 395 204 and junior standing

C I

406

201 or 202, 332 or 333, junior classification, admission to teacher education program

C I

416

GPA 2.5; full admission to teacher education; senior classification; 378, 443, 448, 449; reservation required

C I 426 202, senior classification, admission to teacher education program

C I 449 377, concurrent enrollment in 378, 468B, 468D, junior classification

C I 554 Senior status or teaching license

C I 578 Graduate or senior level status or permission of instructor

C R P 291 Sophomore classification



C R P 383 253, junior status

C R P 425 Junior classification

C R P 429 Junior classification

C R P 435 253, 270, or junior classification


C R P 475 253 or 270 and junior classification

C R P 484 Senior classification

C R P 494 Senior classification, 332 should be taken prior to or concurrently

C R P 519 Graduate or senior standing

CH E 302 Junior classification in chemical engineering

CHEM

298

Permission of the Department cooperative education coordinator; sophomore classification

CHEM

398

Permission of the Department cooperative education coordinator; junior classification

CHEM

399

Permission of instructor with whom student proposes to work and junior or senior classification

CHEM

498

Permission of the Department cooperative education coordinator; senior classification

CHEM 555 Graduate or senior classification.

CJ ST

460

Junior or senior classification; permission of criminal justice studies coordinator; major or minor in sociology, or criminal justice studies minor

CL ST 304 Sophomore classification




COMST 490 9 credits in communication studies and junior classification

CON E 380 Junior classification

CON E 421 241, Junior classification

CPR E 281 sophomore classification

CPR E 370 C I 201, junior standing in non-engineering major

CPR E 490 Senior classification in computer engineering

DSN S 291 Sophomore classification

DSN S 293 Sophomore classification

DSN S

397

Sophomore classification or above in one of the College of Design degree programs

DSN S 425 Junior classification



DSN S

446

Junior classification in a curriculum in the College of Design and permission of instructor

DSN S 478 L A 371 or senior classification or graduate standing

DSN S 484 Senior classification

DSN S 528 Arch 221, 222 or senior classification or graduate standing

DSN S 567 Senior classification


DSN S 571 Senior classification or graduate standing

DSN S 575 Senior classification or graduate standing

DSN S 578 Senior Classification or graduate standing

E E 388 Junior classification in engineering

E E 408 Junior or senior classification

E E 409 Junior or senior classification

E E 490 Senior classification in electrical engineering

ECON

298


ECON

362

Econ 101 or Soc 130 or Soc 134, junior or senior status in the College of Agriculture

ECON

398


ECON 490 Junior or senior classification, 14 credits in economics

ECON 492 Graduating senior

ECON 496 Sophomore status; permission of instructor

ECON

498


ENGL 219 Sophomore classification

ENGL

250

150 or exemption from 150; sophomore classification or exemption from 150; credit for or concurrent enrollment in Lib 160

ENGL 302 250, junior classification



ENGL 360 250; sophomore classification









ENGL 411 310; 302, 309, 313, or 314; junior classification

ENGL 412 310; 302, 309, or 314; junior classification

ENGL 413 313; 302, 309, or 314; junior classification

ENGL 415 302, 309, or 314; junior classification



ENGL 425 219; junior classification

ENGL 437 220; junior classification

ENGL

440

Completion of 9 credits of surveys; completion of or concurrent enrollment in 339; junior classification

ENGL

441



ENGL 442 302, 309, 313, or 314; junior classification

ENGL

445



ENGL

450


ENGL

451


ENGL

452


ENGL

460


ENGL

487

9 credits in 302, 309, 313, 314, 415 (preferred), 416, or 477, senior classification; and permission of coordinator

ENGL

490

9 credits in English beyond 250 appropriate to the section taken, junior classification, permission of Undergraduate Studies Committee



ENGR 490 Junior or senior classification in engineering, college approval

ENSCI 295 Sophomore classification in EnSci

ENSCI 345 Junior classification

ENSCI

402


ENSCI

404


ENSCI

424


ENSCI 495 Junior classification in Environmental Science, permission of instructor

ENSCI

502


ENSCI

504


ENSCI

524


ENSCI

574

Four courses in natural, biological, or engineering sciences and senior or above classification

ENT 311 Sophomore classification

ENT 490 15 credits in biological sciences, junior or senior classification

ENV S 293 Sophomore classification

ENV S 334 Three credits in philosophy or junior classification

ENV S 342 Junior classification

ENV S

404


ENV S 460 120, and A Ecl 312 or NREM 301, and Junior classification

ENV S 472 Sophomore classification

ENV S

482

Three credits in Political Science or 3 credits in Environmental Studies; Junior classification

ENV S 484 Senior classification

FCEDS

460

senior classification in Family and Consumer Sciences Education and Studies


FOR 290 Freshman or Sophomore classification, permission of instructor

FOR 452 Junior classification, and NREM 301 or A Ecl 312

FOR 453 junior or senior classification

FOR 475 Junior or senior classification, 3 credits in biology

FS HN 298 Permission of the department chair; sophomore classification

FS HN 314 214 and junior classification

FS HN 340 Junior classification

FS HN 342 Junior classification

FS HN 398 Permission of the department chair; junior classification

FS HN 480 203, senior classification in the department

FS HN 481 Major in nutritional science, senior classification

FS HN 492 junior or senior classification

FS HN 498 Permission of the department chair; senior classification

GEN

298

Permission of department cooperative education coordinator; sophomore classification

GEN

398


GEN 490 313, junior or senior classification, permission of instructor

GEN 491 Junior classification

GEN

498


GEOL

298

100 or 201, 100L, 102, 102L, and permission of the department cooperative education coordinator; sophomore classification

GEOL

398

100 or 201, 100L, 102, 102L, and permission of the department cooperative education coordinator; junior classification

GEOL

402


GEOL 495 Junior or senior classification

GEOL

498

Geol 100 or 201, 100L, 102, 102L, and permission of the department cooperative education coordinator; senior classification

GEOL

502


GEOL 595 Senior or graduate classification

GER

370

Sophomore classification. For fourth credit, 6 credits in German at the 300 level

GER

371


GER

375


GER

378


GER

475

Sophomore classification. For fourth credit, six credits in German at the 300 level

GER

476

Sophomore classification. For fourth credit, six credits in German at the 300 level

GERON 571 Senior classification or graduate standing GLOBE

321

Junior or Senior and enrollment in Global Resource Systems major; permission of the instructor and approval by the Global Resource Systems Faculty Coordinator


GLOBE

322

Junior or Senior and enrollment in Global Resource Systems major; permission of the instructor and approval by the Global Resource Systems Faculty Coordinator

GLOBE 401 Senior classification in Global Resource Systems

GLOBE

446


H S 385 Junior classification, to be taken minimum of two semesters prior to KIN 485

HD FS 380 Junior classification

HD FS 449 269 or Psych 332 or 333, senior classification

HD FS 474 junior or senior status

HD FS

479

102 or equivalent; 269 or equivalent; 9 hours in social sciences and junior or senior status

HD FS 486 Junior classification; 6 credits in HD FS at 300 level and above

HD FS 491 449; permission of instructor, senior classification

HD FS 493 Senior classification

HD FS 593 Senior classification

HIST 304 Sophomore classification






































HIST 495 Senior history majors with at least 12 credits of 300+ level history courses

HORT 422 221, junior or senior classification



HORT 446 240 and credit or enrollment in 342; junior or senior classification

HORT 475 Junior or senior classification, 3 credits in biology

HORT 480 junior or senior classification

HORT 490 Junior or Senior classification in horticulture, permission of instructor

HORT 497 Junior or senior classification

HORT 551 Junior or senior or graduate classification or permission of instructor

HRI

380

233 or 2 cr Micro; FS HN 111 or 214; at least junior classification; enrollment in 380L

HRI

380L

233 or 2 cr Micro; FS HN 111 or 214; at least junior classification; enrollment in 380; reservation with program required

I E 408 Junior or senior classification

I E 409 Junior or senior classification

I E 490 Senior classification, permission of instructor

IA LL 499 Junior or senior classification and permission of instructor

IA LL 303I Permission of instructor and sophomore standing

IA LL 490I Junior or senior classification and permission of instructor

INTST

446


JL MC 301 Advrt 230 or Jl MC 220; Sophomore classification

JL MC 305 Engl 250, Sophomore classification

JL MC 341 Junior classification

JL MC 342 Sophomore classification



JL MC

424

220, 301, and C+ or better in 321; junior classfication. Section B: C+ or better in 202 or 206; instructor permission only

JL MC 449 342, 342L, 349 or concurrent enrollment; junior classification



JL MC 460 C+ or better in 201; junior classification








JL MC 490 Junior classification and contract with supervising professor to register JL MC

499

Jl MC majors, C+ or better in 202 or 206 or 321; Advrt majors, C+ or better in Jl MC 201; Advrt 301; All students, junior classification, formal faculty adviser approval of written proposal

KIN 385 Junior classification; to be taken minimum of two semesters prior to KIN 485

KIN 425 Permission of athletic training program director, senior classification

KIN 485 Senior classification and advance registration

KIN 489 Senior classification, permission of athletic training program director

KIN 495 Senior classification

L A 478 L A 371 or senior classification or graduate standing

L A 578 Senior classification or graduate standing

LAS 222 Sophomore classification LAS

290

Freshman or sophomore classification; Permission of the director of the Catt Center for LAS 290G.: other topics need: permission of the dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

LAS

298

Permission of Liberal Arts and Sciences Career Services; sophomore classification

LAS 333 Sophomore classification

LAS

398

Permission of Liberal Arts and Sciences Career Services; junior classification

LAS

498

Permission of Liberal Arts and Sciences Career Services; senior classification

LING 219 Sophomore classification

LING 425 Engl 219; junior classification

LING 437 Engl 220; junior classification

LING 537 219, 220, or 511; junior classification

LING

490B

9 credits in English beyond 250 appropriate to the section taken, junior classification, permission of Undergraduate Studies Committee

LSCM 490 LSCM 360, senior classification, permission of instructor

M E 202 Sophomore classification

M E 388 Junior classification in engineering

M E 412 Credit or enrollment in 325, senior classification in engineering

M E 423 Junior classification in mechanical engineering

M E 484 senior classification for 484; graduate classification for 584



M E 490 Senior classification

M E 584 senior classification for 484; graduate classification for 584

MAT E 201 Sophomore classification in Mat E


MAT E 272 Sophomore classification; Chem 167 or 177; Math 165

MAT E 273 Sophomore classification; Chem 167 or 177.

MAT E 370 C I 201, junior standing in non-engineering major

MAT E 388 Junior classification in engineering

MAT E

397

Permission of department and Engineering Career Services; junior classification

MAT E 413 Senior status in Mat E

MAT E 414 Senior status in Mat E

MATH

298


MATH

398


MATH

498


MGMT 310 Sophomore classification

MGMT 377 Econ 101 and junior classification

MGMT 471 Junior standing

MGMT 472 Junior classification

MGMT 478 370; OSCM 320; Fin 301; Mkt 340; LSCM 360; Acct 285; graduating senior

MGMT 490 370, senior classification, permission of instructor

MICRO 450 Sp Cm 212 and senior standing in Microbiology

MICRO 451 Junior or Senior standing in Microbiology

MIS 490 330, senior classification, permission of instructor

MKT 490 340, senior classification; permission of instructor

MTEOR

298


MTEOR

321

311; junior or senior standing; permission of co-op program coordinator; acceptance by sponsoring agency

MTEOR

398


MTEOR

402


MTEOR

404


MTEOR

498


MTEOR

502


MTEOR

504


MUSIC

471

Application through the Study Abroad Program; interview with instructor; sophomore classification

N S 230 Sophomore classification

N S 320 Physics 221, sophomore classification

N S

321

Sophomore classification. Requests to waive this prerequisite must be approved by Naval Science Department

N S

330

Physics 221, sophomore classification. Requests to waive this prerequisite must be approved by Naval Science Department


N S

410

Senior classification. Requests to waive this prerequisite must be approved by Naval Science Department

N S

421

Sophomore classification. Requests to waive this prerequisite must be approved by Naval Science Department

N S

440

Senior classification. Requests to waive this prerequisite must be approved by Naval Science Department

N S

490

Senior classification and prior approval of Naval Science Department Chair, 6 credits in naval science

NREM 211 Sophomore classification

NREM 303 Permission of instructor and sophomore standing

NREM 345 Junior classification

NREM 385 Junior standing

NREM

402


NREM 452 Junior classification, and NREM 301 or A Ecl 312

NREM 460 120, and A Ecl 312 or NREM 301, and Junior classification

NREM 490 Junior or senior classification, permission of instructor

NREM 303I Permission of instructor and sophomore standing

NREM 490I Junior or senior classification and permission of the instructor

NUC E 490 Junior Classification

OSCM 490 OSCM 320, senior classification, permission of instructor

PHIL 331 230 or junior classification

PHIL 334 3 credits in philosophy or junior classification

PHIL

398


PHIL 450 3 credits in philosophy; 207 strongly encouraged

PHIL 492 Graduating senior

PHYS

298


PHYS 302 Sophomore classification

PHYS

398


PHYS

498


PL P

490

Junior or senior classification, 7 credits in biological sciences, permission of instructor

POL S 235 Sophomore standing

POL S

298

Permission of department cooperative education coordinator; sophomore classification

POL S

301

3 credits in political science; one statistics course required; sophomore classification

POL S 305 Sophomore classification






POL S 319 Sophomore standing; 215 recommended

POL S 363 Sophomore standing


POL S

398


POL S 406 6 credits in political science or junior classification

POL S 420 215; junior classification

POL S 422 215 or 251; junior classification



POL S 477 Junior classification

POL S

482

3 credits in political science or 3 credits in Environmental Studies; junior classification

POL S 486 6 credits in Political Science; junior or senior classification

POL S 487 Sophomore standing or instructor approval

POL S

498


POL S

499

6 credits in political science; junior or senior classification; and permission of internship coordinator

PSYCH 411 Junior classification, three courses in psychology; biology 211

PSYCH 485 Junior classification, 6 credits in psychology

PSYCH 488 280 and 301; junior classification

PSYCH 490 Junior classification, 6 credits in psychology, and permission of instructor

PSYCH 491 Junior classification, permission of instructor, and credit or enrollment in 301

PSYCH 492 Junior classification, 12 credits in psychology, and permission of instructor

RELIG 323 Sophomore classification

S E 490 Senior classification in software engineering

SOC

362

Econ 101 or Soc 130 or Soc 134, junior or senior status in the College of Agriculture

SOC 412 Most of major core courses, senior classification

SOC

460

Junior or senior classification; permission of criminal justice studies coordinator; major or minor in sociology, or criminal justice studies minor

SOC 509 Senior or above classification

SOC 590 6 credits in sociology; senior or graduate classification

SP CM

490

18 credits in speech communication, junior classification, permission of department chair

SP CM 497 15 credits in speech communication; junior or senior classification

SP CM

499

18 credits in speech communication courses, other courses deemed appropriate by faculty adviser; 2nd semester junior or senior standing; cumulative GPA of at least 2.5 overall and 3.0 in speech communication; and permission of the internship committee

SP ED 415 Full admission to teacher education, senior classification, 355, 455

SP ED

416

Full admission to teacher education, senior classification, student in elementary education section. 330, 365, 436, 439, 457; C I 280, 478

SUSAG 509 Senior or above classification

T C 257 Sophomore standing


T C

380

9 credits in T C, junior classification, minimum 2.0 GPA. Permission by application

T C

381

9 credits in T C, junior classification, minimum 2.0 GPA. Permission by application

T C 398 Permission of department chair; junior classification

T C 411 Senior classification, 12 credits in T C

T C

470

311 and minimum 2.0 GPA; permission by application; junior or senior classification

T C 498 Permission of department chair; senior classification

T C

499

Senior classification, 15 credits in T C. Permission of instructor, adviser, and department chair

T SC 341 Junior classification



THTRE 469 9 credits in theatre courses; junior classification

THTRE 490 9 credits in theatre, approved written proposal, junior classification

THTRE 497 15 credits in theatre courses; senior classification THTRE

499

18 credits in theatre, other courses deemed appropriate by faculty adviser; 2nd semester junior or senior standing; cumulative GPA of at least 2.5 overall and 3.0 in theatre courses

TSM 201 Sophomore classification in AE, AST, or I Tec

TSM 310 Stat 101 or 104, junior classification

TSM 333 Math 140 or 160, junior or senior classification

TSM 370 270, junior standing

TSM 408 Junior or senior classification

TSM 409 Junior or senior classification

TSM 415 senior classification

TSM

490

Junior or senior classification, permission of instructor, and completion of an independent study contract and approval by department

U ST 170 Freshman or sophomore classification

U ST 205 106, intended primarily for sophomores

U ST 206 106, Intended primarily for sophomores

U ST 305 Intended primarily for juniors

U ST 306 Intended primarily for juniors

U ST 342 Junior classification

U ST 405 Intended primarily for seniors

U ST 406 Intended primarily for seniors

U ST

471

Application through the Study Abroad Program; interview with instructor; sophomore classification

W S 222 Sophomore classification




W S

460




W S 491 Senior classification; permission of department

W S 499 Senior classification

WLC 484 senior classification for 484; graduate classification for 584

WLC 584 senior classification for 484; graduate classification for 584

early credit task force final report - iowa state university programs/policies...early credit task...

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