Accelerated

Success First Accelerated is offered in conjunction with EN111-Composition I, which prepares students for the demands of college-level reading and writing assignments. Students learn to communicate effectively in written form, read for purpose and comprehension, use standard English grammar and sentence structure, and use pre-writing, peer review and editing techniques in essays. A supplemental three-credit First Year Experience class helps students develop the characteristics, habits and attitudes of an effective learner. One hour of tutoring per week is also required. 

Success First Accelerated students may also enroll in other college classes including a math course.

Program Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the Success First program, students should be able to demonstrate:

• Effective academic communication; both in written and oral form
• Literal comprehension of college level readings
• Understanding and application of processes for writing and research
• The characteristics, habits and attitudes of an effective learner
• Understanding of connections between their community experiences and the larger world, focusing especially on social justice issues

Program Evaluation

Donnelly has a well-established assessment system for evaluating all of its academic programs, including Success First. Standard indicators used to measure student achievement include attendance records, test scores, course grades, in-class assessments, and semester and cumulative grade point averages (GPAs). Additional indicators used to measure overall program effectiveness include number and percent of students achieving target outcomes—English language fluency, proficiency in oral and written communication and college readiness. Because the goal of the Success First program is to prepare students to be successful in college-level classes, we also track students’ subsequent performance in Composition I and II and First-Year Experience. Finally, we track the percentage of Donnelly graduates who completed their degree program after beginning their college journeys in Success First.

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