This document provides training information for advisors regarding Florida's new legislation allowing some students to opt out of placement testing and developmental education courses. It outlines a three-step process for advisors to verify student eligibility, determine the appropriate advising conversation, and assist students with course registration. Advisors are instructed to use a mandatory student questionnaire to collect information to verify exemption status and advise students on their options to take college-level or developmental courses based on their academic history and readiness. The training emphasizes consistent application of the process across all campuses.

1. TRAINING FOR SPRING
TERM REGISTRATION
Session 1: October 1-3, 2013
Session 2: October 8-10, 2013

2. Spring Term Registration
Day One Training
October 1-3, 2013
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3. Spring Term Registration
Objectives for Day One
Key objectives for Day One training include
• Review new legislative rules that permit some students to
skip placement testing and Dev Ed courses
• Learn how to determine if a student is Exempt from
placement testing and Dev Ed courses
• Learn how to determine what advice to give Exempt
students about Dev Ed vs college-level course options
• Practice having conversations with students about their
course options
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4. Overview
• SB1720 allows Exempt students to skip placement
testing and developmental education instruction
• Exempt students must have
• Started 9th grade in a Florida public high school or public charter
school in 2003 or later, and
• Graduated from a Florida public high school or public charter
school, and
• Earned a standard high school diploma, or
• Active military status
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5. Overview (2)
• Exempt students can choose to “opt-in” to testing and
developmental education.
• Exempt students can choose to
• Take placement tests: the Testing Department will continue to
administer PERT
• Enroll in developmental courses: MDC will continue to offer
developmental reading, writing and mathematics courses for both
students who are NOT exempt and exempt students who “opt-in”
• More information about developmental courses in next week‟s Spring
Registration Training on October 8-10
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6. Overview (3)
• Exempt students can also choose to take college-level
courses in spring term 2013/2, but they must
• Self-identify: there is no “Master List” of eligible Exempt students
• Seek an override: the MDC registration system will not let them
register for college-level courses without an override
• Not clear how many students will self-identify and seek
overrides for college-level classes
• Academic Deans and Chairs planning for significant increases in
enrollment in
• Gateway courses (ENC1101, MAT1033)
• Other popular college-level courses
(e.g., HUN1201, PSY2012, HUM1020, CLP1006)
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7. Overview (4)
Students will likely reach out to many different people at
MDC for overrides
• Student Services advisors
• Others in Student Services
• Academic Chairs
• Assistants to the Chairs
• Maybe even faculty
All these people are hereafter referred to as “SPRING
TERM ADVISORS”
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8. Spring Term Registration Options
• MANDATORY NEW PROCESS FOR ALL EXEMPT
STUDENTS
• Three Step Process implemented the same way by all
SPRING TERM ADVISORS on all campuses
• Step One: Verify Exempt Eligibility
• Step Two: Advise about Course Options
• Step Three: Assist course selection and reinforce
learning support and engagement
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9. Spring Term Registration Process
• ALL Exempt students who want to take college-level
courses must
• Self-identify with a SPRING TERM ADVISOR
• Complete a Mandatory Student Questionnaire
• Receive appropriate advising
• Acknowledge in writing that they
• Have given MDC accurate information on the Mandatory Student
Questionnaire
• Been advised of their options
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10. Spring Term Registration Process
• All SPRING TERM ADVISORS must
• Review information on Mandatory Student Questionnaire
• Verify eligibility
• Advise student of course options
• Provide override(s) and help with course selection for Exempt
students who choose college-level option(s) after advisement
• Provide help with developmental course selection for Exempt
students who choose developmental option(s) after advisement
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11. Spring Term Registration Process
• Mandatory Student Questionnaire has two sections
• Eligibility: this information will be used to determine if a student is
Exempt and can take college-level courses
• But, all SPRING TERM ADVISORS will also need to verify type of
high school diploma using Odyssey (screen: AD CR HS)
• Advising: this information will be used to determine which advising
conversation to have with a student
• Conversation 1: support choice of college level courses and reinforce
importance of using supplemental resources
• Conversation 2: explain benefits of and recommend developmental
education courses
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12. Spring Term Registration Process
• Insert questionnaire
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13. Spring Term Registration Q&A
• Why are we using a Mandatory Student Questionnaire?
• Simple way to collect important information consistently and in one
place
• When does the student complete the Mandatory Student
Questionnaire?
• When s/he comes in to see an advisor. The student completes the
questionnaire before meeting with the advisor.
• Are we allowing students to self-report? Yes, but
• We require them to acknowledge they are giving us accurate
information, and
• We will verify eligibility using the Degree Audit
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14. Spring Term Registration Process Q&A
• When does the student sign the acknowledgements on
the questionnaire?
• Student can sign to acknowledge accuracy either before or during
his/her meeting with the SPRING TERM ADVISOR
• Student MUST sign to acknowledge receiving advising about
options at the end of his/her meeting with SPRING TERM
ADVISOR
• What does SPRING TERM ADVISOR do with the
questionnaires?
• Give them to Student Services Advisement Director or Academic
Chair at the end of every day
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15. Spring Term Registration Process Q&A
• What does Student Services Advisement Director or
Academic Chair do with Mandatory Student
Questionnaires?
• Give them to the campus Directors of Admissions and Registration
on a WEEKLY basis. Each questionnaire will be scanned and
included in students‟ files for future reference
• What should I do if a student refuses to sign one or both
acknowledgments?
• Refer student to Director of Advisement of Academic Chair
• NO OVERRIDES CAN BE GIVEN WITHOUT BOTH
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
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16. Spring Term Registration Process Q&A
• How does the SPRING TERM ADVISOR provide
overrides?
• There are NO blanket overrides
• ADVISOR must discuss EACH developmental placement with
student
• Student may be ready for college-level English but not yet ready for
college-level math
• ADVISOR uses “Override Screen” and overrides EACH
developmental placement hold separately, based on outcome of
advising conversation
• Outcome 1: student decides to take college-level course(s)
• Outcome 2: student decides to take developmental-level course(s)
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17. Spring Term Registration Process Q&A
• How does SPRING TERM ADVISOR provide overrides
(continued)?
• ADVISOR enters comments that explain reason(s) for any override
• Student has strong high school record
• Student has strong MDC record
• Student insists on taking college-level course(s)
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18. Spring Term Registration Process
Step 1: Verify Exempt Eligibility
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19. Spring Term Registration Process
Step 1: Eligibility
Using the Mandatory Student Questionnaire, check for
• Student Name: this should be the same as it appears in
student‟s MDC record
• Student MDID: Important to track future student
performance
• Question 1: High school attended in 9th grade
• Must be a Florida public high school or public charter school
• Must have started in 2003 or later
• Question 2: High school graduated from in 12th grade
• Must be a Florida public high school or public charter school
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20. Spring Term Registration Process
Step 1: Eligibility
• Resources to help with Questions 1 and 2 available in Tab 3 of Spring Term
Registration binder
• List of all public high schools and public charter schools in Miami Dade
County
• List of all public high schools in Florida outside of Miami Dade County
• Private and out of state schools are NOT eligible
• Question 3: type of high school diploma
• Only STANDARD high school diplomas (code W06) are eligible
• GED and Certificate of Completion are NOT eligible
• Diploma type MUST be verified in Odyssey (AD CR HS)
• Withdrawal/graduation codes available in Tab 3
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21. Spring Term Registration Process
Step 1: Eligibility
• Question 4: military status
• Only active military status is Exempt. This includes
• Full-time training duty per section 329(a)
• Active duty in Coast guard during period of hostility
• Annual training duty and attendance while in active military status at a
service school
• Active duty National Guardsmen
• Active duty reservists
• Active duty in non-combatant capacity
• Veterans are NOT exempt unless they meet other eligibility criteria
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22. Spring Term Registration Process
Step 1: Eligibility
• What to say in conversation with student who is not
Exempt
• Legislation clearly defines who is Exempt and who is not. “We
have no authority or flexibility to make any exceptions to the rules.”
• Explain why this student is not Exempt
• Did not start in or graduate from public high school in Florida
• Does not have standard diploma
• “Let‟s discuss course options for spring term so you can build a
schedule and register for classes”
• Dev Ed course options will be explained in more detail in Training
Session B on October 8-10
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23. Spring Term Registration Process
Decision Tree to Determine Exempt Eligibility
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24. Spring Term Registration Process
Step 1: Eligibility
• Hands-on practice with real-world scenarios
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25. Spring Term Registration Process
Step 2: Advising
Determining What Advice to Give Student
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26. Spring Term Registration Process
Step 2: Advising—WhatAdvice to Give
• Use the Mandatory Student Questionnaire to learn
more about the students‟ history
• in high school (if they are relatively new to MDC),
• at MDC (if they have been here for more than 1 semester), and
• their current situation
• Questions prompt discussions with students to get more
information to provide advising support
• Based on historical student performance
• Ask about attributes that predict success at MDC
• Enable broader discussion of options
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27. Spring Term Registration Process
Step 2: Advising—WhatAdvice to Give
• The information on the questionnaire will help you decide
to have Conversation 1 or Conversation 2
• Conversation 1: support choice of college-level courses and
reinforce importance of using supplemental resources like
labs, tutoring, extra help, after class support groups, etc.
• Conversation 2: explain benefits of and recommend
developmental education courses
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28. Spring Term Registration Process
Step 2: Advising—WhatAdvice to Give
• No one question alone provides enough information to
advise students—consider the answers to multiple
questions and provide individualized advice and guidance
• There is NO ONE RIGHT ANSWER
• You will have to base your recommendations on the student‟s
responses and your conversation with the student
• Advising questions are #5-14 on the Mandatory Student
Questionnaire
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29. Spring Term Registration Process
Step 2:Advising—WhatAdvice to Give
• Question 5: current developmental course placement
• Students taking these lower level dev ed courses should be
encouraged to complete the dev ed sequence(s)
• REA0007 to REA0017
• ENC0015 to ENC0025
• MAT0018 to MAT0022c (all modules which may require 2 semesters)
• Why? Because the courses build on and reinforce each other to
prepare students for success in college-level courses
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30. Spring Term Registration Process
Step 2: Advising—WhatAdvice to Give
• Question 6: early performance indicators in math
• Students experiencing early difficulties in MAT0022c should be
encouraged to complete all the modules, which may require a
second semester in the course
• Why? Because the content of MAT0022c includes basic skills
building blocks that are fundamental to success in college-level
math courses. Students who are struggling to master them will
benefit from additional skill development and reinforcement
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31. Spring Term Registration Process
Step 2: Advising—WhatAdvice to Give
• Questions 7 & 8: academic probation and MDC GPA
• This question is not relevant for incoming students (FTIC 2013/2)or
students who started in Fall Term 2013/1
• Students may not know they are on academic probation or know
what their cumulative GPA is, so you may need to probe by asking
them questions such as “are you taking or did you recently take
SLS1125,” or asking them if they have failed any courses at MDC
• Students may be on academic probation for many reasons but all
will benefit from additional time to develop and reinforce basic skill
development in reading, writing and mathematics
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32. Spring Term Registration Process
Step 2: Advising—WhatAdvice to Give
• Questions 9 & 10: grade performance in developmental
courses
• Students who have not passed or who withdrew from
developmental courses and didn‟t complete the course sequences
should be encouraged to complete them
• Why? These students will benefit from the development and
reinforcement of basic skills that are the foundation of college-level
success
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33. Spring Term Registration Process
Step 2: Advising—WhatAdvice to Give
• Question11: high school math courses and grades
• Analysis shows that students who completed Algebra 2
Honors, Pre-Calculus and Calculus in and earned a „C‟ or higher in
the course have a high probability of success in MAT1033
• However, students who took Intensive Math or College Readiness
Math, even if they earned a „C‟ or better in the course, do not have
a high probability of being successful in MAT1033
• These students would benefit from additional skill development in Dev
Ed courses at MDC
• ADVISORS may be able to look at the actual high school
transcripts (SR TR EX HS, enter, F11) but are not required to do so.
You can use the information the student has given you on the
Questionnaire
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34. Spring Term Registration Process
Step 2: Advising—WhatAdvice to Give
• Question 12: high school English courses and grades
• Analysis shows that students who completed any English course in 12th
grade (English 4, English 4 Honors, or any AP course) and earn a „C‟ or
better in the course have a high probability of success in ENC1101.
• However, students who did not take English in the 12th grade or did not
earn a „C‟ or better grade, do not have a high likelihood of success in
ENC1101
• These students would benefit from additional development work in College
Prep Reading and/or Writing
• ADVISORS may be able to look at actual high school transcripts (SR TR
EX HS, enter, F11) but this is not required. You can use the information the
student has given you on the Questionnaire
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35. Spring Term Registration Process
Step 2: Advising—WhatAdvice to Give
• Question 13: high school course performance
• This is an opportunity to determine why a student failed
course(s), if s/he did, and whether these failures were key math or
English courses
• Probing questions will add information, such as
• Course too hard
• Didn‟t do homework
• Time management problems
• Study skills issues
• Work commitments
• Personal issues
• Other
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36. Spring Term Registration Process
Step 2: Advising—WhatAdvice to Give
• Question 14: boot camp attendance
• This question is relevant only for students who started at MDC in
2012 or 2013
• Boot camp attendance was especially important for students whose
placement scores put them in the lower levels of developmental
education (REA0007, ENC0015, MAT0018, MAT0022c)
• If a student attended boot camp, but his/her placement didn‟t
change, this student would benefit from additional skill
development and reinforcement in Dev Ed course(s)
• If a student did not attend boot camp, this fact raises questions
about motivation and persistence
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37. Spring Term Registration Process
Step 2: Advising—WhatAdvice to Give
• Hands-on practice with real world-examples
• Decision tree for advising is more complicated than eligibility
• No one question alone is enough to decide which advice to give
student
• But, taken together, answers to Questions 5-14 provide a solid
overview of a student‟s likelihood of success in college-level
courses
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38. Spring Term Registration Process
WhatAdvice to Give?
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39. Spring Term Registration
Step 2: Advising
Having the Conversation with the Student
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40. Spring Term Registration Process
Step 2: Advising—Having the Conversation
• Two different discussions with students based on the
information from the Mandatory Student Questionnaire
and follow-up questions when you meet with them
• Conversation 1: SPRING TERM ADVISOR supports student‟s
choice of college-level courses and reinforce importance of using
supplemental resources like labs, tutoring, extra help, after class
support groups, etc.
• Conversation 2: SPRING TERM ADVISOR explains benefits of and
recommends developmental education courses
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41. Spring Term Registration Process
Step 2:Advising—Having the Conversation
• Talking points for Conversations 1 and 2
• To be added after focus groups with students to test messages
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42. Spring Term Registration Process
Step 2:Advising—Having the Conversation
• Explanation of how to use the talking points
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43. Spring Term Registration Process
Step 2: Advising—Having the Conversation
• Hands on practice using the talking points to have
conversations with students: getting comfortable making
the pitches
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