Program description
Washtenaw Technical Middle College provides a powerful and meaningful educational alternative for those students looking for something more than "seat time". WTMC began in 1997 and usually enrolls 120 new students each school year. WTMC is integrated into the campus of its chartering agency, Washtenaw Community College (WCC, www.wccnet.edu) in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
WTMC refers to itself as a program, not a school, and it concentrates on one thing-- educating all students. Students progress through WTMC based on skill acquisition, not credit acquisition. The required skills are both hard (academic) and soft (life management) skills. All WTMC students transition to a full time college schedule at WCC. In the community college, they complete a set of core academic courses, plus a certificate or an Associate's degree in a technical field. The process of mastering a chosen skill provides students with lasting educational value. Operating independently on a college campus makes WTMC students adaptable, empowered, responsible and skilled.
Student Body
As a Public School Academy (PSA) WTMC must enroll any student who has completed one to two years of high school course work. WTMC's percentage of minority students mirrors the county average with slightly more than 25 percent of the students identifying themselves as members of a minority group.
WTMC has an educationally diverse student body. The current WTMC population is made up of students representing over 30 different school districts spread over six different counties. Including home school, private, parochial and charter school students, WTMC draws students from over 80 different educational programs. Each student who enters WTMC has a unique set of hard and soft skills, plus a distinct perception of what school is and what the process of learning is.
Imagine a high school receiving students from over 80 different middle schools with 80 different curricula. These differences pose a challenge to WTMC faculty in preparing students for the programs graduation requirements. WTMC requires each graduate to: (1) transition from high school level course work to full time college level course work, (2) complete a set of core 100 level academic courses with a grade of C or better and (3) complete either a technical certificate or Associate's degree in a technical program.
How is it done? At WTMC students embrace the true 3 R's for the 21st century: Rigor, Relevance and Relationships.
Methodology
Rigor, Relevance and Relationships
Rigor-- WTMC's academic and life management program is based on skills, not credit. Students remain in the WTMC academic transition program until they meet specific academic and "soft skill" requirements, regardless of their age or how long they've been attending school. At WTMC it isn't the number of credits the student has earned that matters, but rather what the student can demonstrate consistently.
This level of academic rigor, followed by enrollment in community college courses, sets a high standard for academic skills for all students. Attending class with other students who have enrolled voluntarily puts the emphasis on content mastery. The college's requirement of a minimum grade to progress to the next course in a program sequence reinforces the emphasis on content mastery. The emphasis on content creates learners, as opposed to students who "go to school." WTMC students become active participants in their education, resulting in much higher rates of academic success and student satisfaction.
Relevance-- After they complete the program's core college academic courses, students begin work on their technical certificates or Associate degree programs. Students may select from over 40 different programs at WCC. Students choose the skills that they want to learn. Each student, at the minimum, has mastered an entry level skill by graduation.
More importantly, WTMC students learn how to navigate the process of post-secondary education. They learn how to manage their time effectively, organize their lives in and out of school, negotiate their way through problems, and most of all, manage the typical impediments of post secondary education. This creates graduates who are prepared for work or the continuation their studies at a four year university.
Relationships-- The most important factor influencing success is the relationship between students and faculty. All faculty members try to understand the unique circumstances of each of their students, but one faculty member is given additional opportunities through the WTMC's BASE (Better Accounting of Student Efforts) program.
At WTMC, one of a student's classroom instructors also serves as a BASE teacher or mentor. Each BASE teacher works with about 40 students during their academic careers at WTMC. The student's BASE teacher remains the same during the student's educational career at WTMC. The BASE teacher is one significant adult in the student's educational live, who understands the environment and assists with the completion of the chosen program.
Outcomes
The WTMC transition curriculum is aligned with the college's expectations for the entry level core academic skills of first year college students in English, mathematics, social studies and science. By removing the time element from the typical "time centric" K-12 model, WTMC is able to individualize the educational program for each student, filling in the skill gaps for students who have them and accelerating the program for those students who do not. This approach has resulted in excellent scores on achievement measures, plus, high levels of student satisfaction.
National Assessments
WTMC has also demonstrated steady and solid improvement on the ACT exam. WTMC's composite scores are above the state and national ACT core composite averages. WTMC has increased its average over the last five years while the national average has trended down and the state average remained the same (Table 2).
Table 2
|
Average ACT Composite Scores for All Graduates |
|||
|
Year |
National Composite Average. |
State
Composite |
WTMC
Composite |
|
1998-99 |
21.0 |
21.3 |
21.4 |
|
1999-00 |
21.0 |
21.3 |
21.4 |
|
2000-01 |
21.0 |
21.3 |
23.4 |
|
2001-02 |
20.8 |
21.3 |
23.5 |
|
2002-03 |
20.8 |
21.3 |
24.0 |
|
2003-04 |
20.9 |
21.4 |
24.3 |
|
2004-05 |
Not yet available |
Not yet available |
|
Washtenaw Community College Performance
Another useful comparison is how WTMC students have performed at Washtenaw Community College. As the WTMC program has evolved, the overall performance of its students has improved. WTMC students consistently pass courses, defined as a grade of C or better, at rates higher than the WCC population in general (Table 4).
Table 4
|
Performance in WCC Classes |
|
|
Year |
Percentage of WCC Grades C or Better |
|
1998-99 |
60.0% |
|
1999-00 |
70.3% |
|
2000-01 |
74.5% |
|
2001-02 |
75.7% |
|
2002-03 |
76.5% |
|
2003-04 |
82.4% |
|
2004-05 |
Not yet available |
The most informative, useful and relevant data measuring student satisfaction is available from the Washtenaw Intermediate School District (WISD) Annual Senior Exit Survey. This instrument is completed by all graduates of public schools in Washtenaw County. Tables compare the responses of each district's graduating seniors to the county average of all graduating seniors. Although this survey has only been conducted since 2002, the results are impressive. WTMC graduates overwhelmingly rate their educational experience as superior to that of their peers. They report that their education has given them the skills for analytic and synthetic thinking (Tables 5 and 6) at almost twice the rate of their peers. They also feel prepared for further educational experiences at twice the rate of their peers (Table 7 and 8). Most significantly, WTMC graduates' perceptions of their educations are consistent with the educational objectives of WTMC-- to create life long learners who are prepared for the next stage of their lives.
Complete survey results are available.
Table 5
Table 6
Table 7
Table 8
The WTMC model is simple, replicable and economically viable. In some respects WTMC is a new educational model based on the old values of acquiring skills to create learners.
WTMC is also an wonderful example of how K-12 and post secondary institutions can work together to create a new paradigm that is learner centered and not time centered, skill based and not credit based. Lastly, WTMC is a exemplary model of what is possible when two very different institutions come together to do what is right for students. Simply put, Washtenaw Technical Middle College and its educational partner Washtenaw Community College do one thing, educate students.