Alignment and Completion of Math and English (ACME) uses Guided Pathways design principles and expertise in CT State Community College to develop and recommend policies and practices that facilitate student completion of college level math and English within the first year.
Policy Document
All elements of this policy will be implemented no earlier than fall 2023 and no later than fall 2025 by decision of the planning and design teams described throughout this document.
Dear Colleagues,
I am pleased to announce that CT State Community College will begin implementing the Alignment and Completion of Math and English (ACME) Policy to scale in Fall 2023. Approved by the Board of Regents in May 2021, this policy aims to increase completion of English 101 and the appropriate college-level gateway math course during a student's first year through implementing corequisite education. All students will begin their community college education in English 101 and the college-level gateway math course most appropriate for their program with the corequisite supports as needed. This policy also directs the offering of accelerated English as a Second Language (ESL) sequence, which has been piloted at some colleges.
Between 2018 and 2021, as part of the Guided Pathways work in CSCU, and led bythe CSCU Student Success Centerand its Guided Pathways Managers, hundreds of faculty, staff, and administrators collaborated on recommendations that set the foundation for the BORACMEpolicy. Over the past year, faculty working groups, with continued support from national experts from the Dana Center, have dedicated hundreds of hours to readying the components of theACMEpolicy for implementation. Over the coming year, much work remains ahead of us that will see faculty working groups studying and refining the implementation ofACMEto ensure that at scale it meets the BOR expectation of advancing equitable student success.
James Gentile and Andrew Sottile lead the English faculty workgroup, Debora Rimkus leads the math faculty workgroup, and Hannelore Moeckel-Rieke leads the ESL faculty workgroup. Each discipline workgroup consists of faculty members from across the CT State Colleges and Universities, all of whom contribute to the design and implementation ofACME. TheACMECore Steering Committee coordinates the activities of the discipline workgroups, and it developed a website to share information aboutACMEwork:ACME. It serves as a repository for meeting information, presentations, and other resources and links to discipline-specific webpages.
ACMEand corequisite education provide a fundamental shift from our current practice of prerequisite developmental education. Gateway math and English courses are prerequisites or corequisites for many courses. Therefore, all faculty must consider the implications of this policy on their programs and courses over the coming academic year. The leads for each discipline group are preparing professional learning opportunities and resources to support faculty and staff during this transitional period.In the meantime, the leads are available to answer questions as needed and will keep faculty updated on developments through CMAC, CCET and ESOL councils.Faculty teaching corequisite courses will receive targeted outreach and professional development opportunities to support successful implementation of these courses.
Thank you once again to everyone who has helped make this equity-informed, faculty-led, and student-centered work a priority. I look forward to the rollout in Fall 2023 but recognize that the work is far from done. I encourage all faculty and staff to become actively involved in the rollout, so that together, we deliver the best possible corequisite supports to our students.
Miah LaPierre-Dreger, EdD
Interim Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs
CT State Community College
mlapierre-dreger@ccc.commnet.edu