ACADEMIC AFFAIRS COUNCIL

AGENDA ITEM: 5.G

DATE: November 7, 2013

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SUBJECT: StraighterLine Review Recommendations

International Baccalaureate credit falls within Board of Regents Policy 2:5 Transfer of

Credit which specifies that “Credit for college level courses granted through nationally

recognized examinations such as CLEP, AP, DANTES, etc., will be evaluated and accepted for

transfer if equivalent to Regental courses and the scores are consistent with Regental policies.”

The Academic Affairs Council has been engaged in discussion surrounding acceptance of

StraighterLine credit under the Board of Regents Policy 2:5 Transfer of Credit during a number

of meetings over the past few years (June, 2011; May, 2012; February, 2013; April

2013). Detailed background related to StraighterLine can be found in the links to the agenda

items provided, and during the September 2013 meeting, the Council agreed to identify only a

subset of the complete suite of courses for review at the campus level that meet the general

education requirements for all Regental institutions. All courses that have course equivalencies

tied to 300/400 level courses, or do not meet entire system level general education requirements

were reviewed at this time.

The primary goal with the campus level review was to have personnel in the respective

disciplines evaluate the course descriptions and materials to determine if they align with the

corresponding course equivalencies in the Regental system (i.e., is the English Composition I

course equivalent to our ENGL 101 Composition I course). To facilitate the review of the

equivalencies with existing courses, representatives from the System Assessment Committee

were asked to work with institutional faculty/departments that manage this curriculum area and

have them review the StraighterLine course materials. Individual responses from the various

campuses were to be submitted by October 25th

, the matrix was developed to provide tracking of

campus input. The table depicts those instances where institutional representatives noted no

equivalency for the respective course, and the final column denotes the total number of “none

equivalent” responses. Those cells that have highlights represent instances where detailed

feedback was received by the institutions (see Attachment I). Based on these recommendations,

a set of initial StraighterLine Course Guidelines have been developed (see Attachment II) to

reflect the addition of the equivalent courses in our system. Pending confirmation by AAC,

these guidelines will move forward for approval by the Board of Regents at their December 2013

meeting.

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RECOMMENDED ACTION

Discussion & Recommendation.

BHSU DSU NSU SDSM&T SDSU USD Total

Pre-General Education Options

Introductory Algebra MATH 021 X 1

Developmental Writing ENGL 033 X X X 3

Goal 1

ENGL 101 English Composition I X X X 3

ENGL 201 English Composition II X X X 3

Goal 3

POLS 100 American Government X 3

HIST 151 US History I X X 2

HIST 152 US History II X X 2

ECON 202 Principles of Macroeconomics X X 2

ECON 201 Principles of Microeconomics X X 2

CLHU 100 Introduction to Philosophy X 1

SOC 100 Introduction to Sociology X X 2

Goal 4

SPAN 101 Introductory Spanish I X 1

SPAN 102 Introductory Spanish II X 1

HIST 121 Western Civilizations I X 1

HIST 122 Western Civilizations II X 1

Goal 5

MATH 102 College Algebra X X 2

MATH 115 Precalculus X X 2

MATH 123 Calculus I X X 2

MATH 125 Calculus II X X 2

Goal 6

BIOL 101 General Biology I X 1

CHEM 106 Chemistry Survey X X 2

PHYS 113 Introduction to Physics II X X 2

PHYS 111 Introduction to Physics I X X 2

ATTA

CH

MEN

T I 2

Campus Feedback from Equivalency Review

Pre-General Education Course Opportunities

o 1. Introductory Algebra – MATH 021 – Basic Algebra

o 2. Student Success

o 3. Developmental Writing – ENGL 033 – Basic Writing

Black Hills State University

MATH 021: Equivalent

ENGL 033: Not Equivalent

Dakota State University

ENGL 033: Developmental Writing offered by StraighterLine does not align

with ENGL 033 Basic Writing course objectives or teaching methods. 033

focuses on specific writing tasks for success in university classes | StraighterLine

focuses on professional writing: resume and cover letter. DSU offers 033

exclusively through face to face personalized instruction | StraighterLine

instruction is online. Feedback and course materials focus on individual writing

skills and needs through in-class exercises and instruction | How StraighterLine

provides feedback on writing is not clear. Students receive percentage grades and

complete quizzes about writing. StraighterLine is not an accredited educational

institution

South Dakota State University

Student Success: Aligns with a combination of courses most likely UC 143

Mastering Lifetime Learning.

ENGL 033: Not Equivalent.

MATH 021: Not Equivalent

Goal 1 o 4. English Composition I – ENGL 101 – Composition I

o 5. English Composition II – ENGL 201 – Composition II

Black Hills State University

ENGL 101 & 201: Not Equivalent

Dakota State University

ENGL 101: English Composition I offered by StraighterLine does not align with ENGL

101 Composition I course goals and objectives and teaching methods. 101 focuses on

university level thinking and writing, with an emphasis on understanding specific

audiences and purposes (rhetorical situations) | StraighterLine focuses on basic writing

skills one would expect to find in a developmental or high school level course – the is no

mention of the rhetorical situation. 101 emphasizes visual rhetoric | SL course contains

ATTACHMENT I 3

no mention of visual rhetoric. 101 covers a wide variety of writing purposes, including

the use of technology and creating multimedia documents and arguments | SL does not

cover anything related to these skills or writing purposes. 101 offers students unlimited

support and feedback on writing | SL offers limited feedback and a pay for feedback

system. 101 instructors grade student work and provide personal feedback and support |

SL describes the feedback process as a third-party system based on %s: “A written piece

that will be submitted to SMARTHINKING for a grade when the final draft is complete.

Your final grade for each assignment is calculated from the raw score provided from

SMARTHINKING. StraighterLine is not an accredited educational institution

ENGL 201: English Composition II offered by StraighterLine does not align with ENGL

201 Composition II course goals and objectives and teaching methods. 201 focuses on

university level thinking and writing, with an emphasis on persuasion and research | the

StraighterLine course description indicates that the course content will be similar,

however, the work of the course and materials focus on literary study and analysis. 201

requires students to be in the second year of academic study, or beyond, and the writing

skills covered are appropriate to advanced thinkers an writers | StraighterLine focuses on

basic writing skills one would expect to find in a developmental or high school level

course. 201 emphasizes visual rhetoric and writing for various rhetorical situations and

creating multi-media documents | SL course discusses media and film as objects for

observation. 201 offers students unlimited support and feedback on writing | SL offers

limited feedback and a pay for feedback system. 201 instructors grade student work and

provide personal feedback and support | SL describes the feedback process as a third-

party system based on %s: “A written piece that will be submitted to SMARTHINKING

for a grade when the final draft is complete. Your final grade for each assignment is

calculated from the raw score provided from SMARTHINKING. StraighterLine is not an

accredited educational institution

South Dakota State University

ENGL 101 and 201: Not Equivalent

Goal 3 o 6. American Government – POLS 100 – American Government

o 7. United States History I – HIST 151 – US History I

o 8. United States History II – HIST 152 – US History II

o 9. Economics I: Macroeconomics – ECON 202 – Principles of Macroeconomics

o 10. Economics II: Microeconomics – ECON 201 – Principles of Microeconomics

o 11. Introduction to Philosophy – CLHU 100 – Introduction to Philosophy

o 12. Introduction to Sociology – SOC 100 – Introduction to Sociology

Black Hills State University

POLS 100: Not Equivalent

HIST 151 & 152: Not Equivalent

ECON 201 & 201: I would recommend no. I cannot see any way to determine faculty

credentials (which could be an AACSB issue). In addition, there are only a few dozen

ATTACHMENT I 4

current partner colleges with Straighterline, and most are online schools like Argosy,

Capella, etc. If it is just a content review, then all I have to go by is chapters and topics

listed on the syllabus……those are the same topics covered by us (and other universities)

in principles of econ courses.

CLHU 100: Equivalent

SOC 100: Not Equivalent

Dakota State University

HIST 151 & 152: I have looked over the material provided. For my history classes, there

are no syllabi to be viewed and the link in the attached pdf document simply reassigns

itself to the general introductory website. However, even if the syllabus were visible, no

significant legitimacy can be drawn from it or the brief course description provided in the

pdf. As we all know, syllabi are simply information summaries of a course, in no way

revelatory of a course’s rigor or thoroughness. These courses may very well be as

rigorous and thorough, if not more so, then our own, but looking at a syllabus isn’t going

to reveal that. This is precisely why higher education utilizes the far more diligent

process of accreditation. Secondly, assuming these courses do not include the level of

writing instruction that ours do, they would not meet our lower division writing

requirement. Now, we currently accept transfer credits from lots of universities whose

classes aren’t writing intensive and credit the students with fulfilling the lower division

writing intensive requirement, so this may be no different. But on face value, it seems

like we are actively encouraging students to avoid the writing piece if we provide them a

cheaper and easier alternative that leads them to the same result.

ECON 201 & 201: Find attached the syllabi for the ECON I: Macro and ECON II: Micro

that I have downloaded from the StraighterLine website. I have several concerns

regarding these courses. They do not look like college courses to me. Instead they seem

to be exclusively on demonstrating some arbitrary level of understanding of the

textbook. Allow me to explain my concerns. The course design for each course seems to

simply take a well-regarded econ textbook, e.g. 'McConnell and Brue's,

Microeconomics', and require students to complete an assignment for each chapter with

optional midterm and final exams. So even though the objectives match up well with say

our ECON 202 at DSU, the syllabus leads one to believe that if a student completes a

series of small chapter assignments then the student can earn enough points to receive a

passing score. Passing is 70% of 1000 possible points, of which 720 (Micro) or 740

(Macro) points are from small 30 or 40 point chapter assignments and the remaining

points (280 or 260 respectively) are evenly divided between a midterm and a final

exam. There is no indication of the difficulty level of the chapter assignments or number

of attempts the student has to earn the chapter assignment points. Therefore, it appears

you can pass the course by potentially earning over 700 points from chapter assignments,

potentially doing so *without even taking* either the midterm exam or final exam for the

course. This is highly unusual and I suspect would not result in very good learning or

retention of the material, depending on how the smaller assignments are designed and

assessed. In addition, I see no evidence of accreditation since the courses are offered by a

publishing company, McGraw-Hill, and not an accredited institution of higher

learning. Moreover, there are no economics faculty listed under 'professors' on the

website, no instructor of record is listed on the syllabi, and none of the few business

ATTACHMENT I 5

faculty listed on the website indicate that they teach economics courses. Therefore, while

the syllabus indicates that the content of the course may be consistent with our courses,

there is insufficient evidence that these courses align with our ACBSP accreditation

standards--particularly in the areas of effective assessment and instructor

qualifications. If asked, I would not recommend that either course be used to substitute

for DSU's ECON 201 or ECON 202 based on the information I reviewed.

SOC 100: In reviewing the syllabus for Soc 100, it does cover what I (or any other Intro

to Soc instructor/ class) would normally cover. It doesn’t surprise me though since they

are pairing up with McGraw Hill. Pearson and McGraw Hill are the most common

publishers of introductory level sociology textbooks, and both have worked hard to come

up with texts (and complete course management systems) that appeal to students. Having

said all of the above, there are only quizzes and tests. While I like my students in both

the f2f and online versions of the class to actually experience the social world in some

way and apply what they have learned, and so believe StraighterLine does not offer the

same experience with even out online courses.

South Dakota School of Mines & Technology

POLS 100: “Judging from the description of the course and the syllabus it hits all the

major points that I do in my Government course. The text book is also equivalent to what

the SDSMT course uses. If I were evaluating this for transfer, I would have no problem

in counting it.”

SOC 100: Adding a brief description of what sociology is, such as, “the systematic study

of human society and interactions” is suggested. Additional suggestions include the

following: When using the “scientific method” in regards to culture, the word “religion”

should be used instead of “churches”. Gender should be discussed in connection with

culture. Greater stress should be place on the connection between societal forces and

individual outcomes (i.e., the sociological imagination). The fact that many of the

practices and ideologies in society are social constructions should be stressed

CLHU 100: To evaluate, a syllabus is needed. Also, the faculty needs to see the edition

of the McGraw-Hill Moore-Bruder e-text or print listed for the course in order to

compare the table of contents with the stated course objectives. Commentary (lecture) is

essential with this particular course and the course description does not specify if and

how commentary is provided. Lastly, the faculty noted that the system already offers a

similar online course, Phil 233, Philosophy & Literature, w/readings and commentary.

ECON 202 & 201: We have no one on the HU/SS faculty of the School of Mines who

can evaluate

South Dakota State University

POLS 100: Equivalent

ECON 201 & 202: Equivalent

HIST 151 & 152: Both courses are needed for HIST 151 & 152. Each course is not

equivalent but together they cover the content.

ATTACHMENT I 6

CLHU 100: Not Equivalent

SOC 100: Equivalent

Goal 4 o 13. Spanish I – SPAN 101 – Introductory Spanish I

o 14. Spanish II – SPAN 102 – Introductory Spanish II

o 15. Western Civilization I – HIST 121 – Western Civilizations I

o 16. Western Civilization II – HIST 122 – Western Civilizations II

Black Hills State University

Spanish 101 & 102: Equivalent

HIST 121 & 122: Not Equivalent

Dakota State University

SPAN 101 & 102: These two courses appear to be equivalent to our Spanish

courses.

HIST 121 & 122: See comments above for HIST 151 and 152. With no writing

assignment, it is hard to see how these courses would accurately and

comprehensively assess a students progress on their own course objectives. It

would not be equivalent to our Western Civilization I & II.

South Dakota School of Mines & Technology

SPAN 101 & 102: The Mines faculty wants to defer to BHSU as we have

insufficient expertise

South Dakota State University

Spanish 101 & 102: Not equivalent

HIST 121 & 122: Both courses are needed for HIST 121 & 121. Each course is

not equivalent but together they cover the content.

Goal 5 o 17. College Algebra – MATH 102 – College Algebra

o 18. Precalculus – MATH 115 - Precalculus

o 19. General Calculus I – MATH 123 – Calculus I

o 20. General Calculus II – MATH 125 – Calculus II

Black Hills State University:

MATH 102, 115, 23 & 125: Not Equivalent

ATTACHMENT I 7

Northern State University

I took a brief look at the course descriptions for the courses listed under the Math

and Science goals (5 and 6). Based on the course descriptions, I’d say that all of

the courses are equivalent to the NSU courses listed. The one that least matched

the catalog description was Calculus II, but it did contain at least part of the

content listed in our catalog description.

Dakota State University

MATH 103, 115, 123 & 125: Every one of the math courses on this list covers

more content than we cover in our courses. Each one of the courses uses an

acceptable textbook. The evaluation procedure is appropriate, in these courses

the “percentage reported” is based solely on exam scores (I would be concerned

if the calculus grade had been based solely on homework for example). Note,

this may need to be reviewed periodically as multiple vendors offer classes. Of

the ones listed on the links sent earlier, they were all acceptable. One might be

concerned about the types of questions on the exams and the grading procedure

as well as who does the grading, but every indication in the documentation

available indicates nothing short of a rigorous collection of courses with

expectations higher than our own.

South Dakota School of Mines & Technology

MATH 102, 115 & 123: Math folks could not fully evaluate class in absence of

a syllabus; however, they noted that BOR policies regarding CLEP and AP

credits already allow a student to take preparation from any source and then get

system credit via CLEP or AP transfer in. Because StraighterLine is not part of

an accredited institution, the math faculty recommend against approving direct

transfer. Math 125: While the system does not allow students to CLEP for

Calculus II, a student can take an AP exam to get both Calculus I and Calculus II

credit. Regarding the question of direct transfer, the recommendation was the

same as for Math 102, etc. namely, “no” Additionally, the math faculty

recommends that the Math Discipline Council be consulted on this issue.

South Dakota State University

MATH 102, 115, 123, 125: Not Equivalent

Goal 6 o 21. Introduction to Biology – BIOL 101 – General Biology I

o 22. General Chemistry I – CHEM 106 – Chemistry Survey

o 23. General Physics II – PHYS 113 – Introduction to Physics II

o 24. General Physics I – PYSY 111 – Introduction to Physics Ii

Black Hills State University

BIOL 101: I think the content and objectives are designed to line up with our

college courses… but I don't agree that they are equivalent courses. The general

ATTACHMENT I 8

education requirement for natural sciences includes LABORATORY

experiences, which are not provided by online programs. All of the current

thinking about science learning underlines the value of collaborative learning,

hands-on engagement, an interactive environment with student-faculty and

student-student interactions - basically, what we provide students in our

laboratory settings!!

CHEM 106: The General Chemistry I course is similar to our CHEM106.

PHYS 113 & 111: Should we be supporting this?? If there is a clientele for this,

shouldn’t we be doing these classes – and doing them better than what this group

provides? That said…#24 General Physics I does seem to line up with our PHYS

111. #23 General Physics II does seem to line up with our PHYS 113. Please

note that they offer a lecture/lab version of each class. I dug as much as I could

to figure out what they are doing for labs, and I am not convinced that their lab

activities are equivalent to what we do, especially the second semester labs. What

I could find looked like high school level at best. I think I would be OK with

non-science majors counting these as a Gen Ed lab science classes, but I’m not as

comfortable with our science/pre-professional students counting these as their

physics-with-lab requirements.

Dakota State University

BIOL 101: The course topics are fairly close to our BIOL 101 and even extend

into BIOL 103. I am troubled by the omission of evolution and natural selection

as a chapter topic. This is considered to be the unifying principle in biology and

so has central importance. The objectives are limited in scope and in some cases

very detailed (I would even say “nit-picky”) and others extremely

vague. Because of this, it is difficult to determine exactly what will be

emphasized in the teaching of the course topics. To be equivalent to our campus

course, the students would have to take the Straighterline course with the lab

included. This would cost extra money, but our course requires lab activities,

and the online lab covers the scientific method which is one of the system-wide

goals for general education science classes. In general, I have lots of reservations

about high school students completing courses like this for college

credit. However, we offer BIOL 101 online, so it is hard to argue that learning in

this format cannot be done effectively. If this initiative moves forward, I believe

that the Straighterline course BIOL 101 with lab could be considered as transfer

credit for BIOL 101 at DSU.

CHEM 106: After reviewing the General Chemistry I course syllabus, I would

not accept this course as an equivalent course for even my far less rigorous "non-

majors" CHEM 106 course. My specific concerns about the rigor (and thus

academic equivalency) of this course are summarized as follows: Though the

course syllabus on its face appears reasonably comprehensive in terms of

conceptual coverage (for a course of this nature), the devil is definitely in the

details. The "Course Objectives" column of the syllabus, for example, is

especially disconcerting as it specifies a litany of learning "action" phrases that

are consistent with a purely qualitative course. Some specific examples are:

ATTACHMENT I 9

1. Review the states of matter…

2. Explore the organization of…

3. Summarize the applications of various gas laws…

4. Express chemical equilibria with…

5. Review the various aspects of…

6. Detail the applications of…

7. Explore the properties of…

8. Distinguish between concepts of…

9. Complete a review of…

Though the phrase "analyze" is used a couple of times, it is clearly not used within the

computational context typical of genuinely quantitative science courses. For example,

one of the learning objectives inclusive of this word is "Analyze the various theories to

depict molecular shape." The phrase itself, apart from merely suggesting quantitative

rigor, is not even grammatically/conceptually coherent. All of these phrases speak

volumes about the complete lack of quantitative rigor in the course design and indeed

indicate that the course is actually much more consistent with a Gen Ed "Introduction to

the History of Chemistry" course than a bona fide Chemistry course. The syllabus is

also replete with references to "non-graded assignments" that are "expected to be

completed" by enrolled students, but that are not actually graded/assessed in any

explicit/meaningful manner. Though I'm certain that we all "suggest" that our students

do X, Y and Z to maximize their success in our classes, my presumption is that none of

us would rely on such a "suggestion"-based approach in pursuit of effectual course

pedagogy (or assessment). Finally, the course specifies no prerequisites at all. I presume

then that this means that (though perhaps unlikely) even a functionally illiterate person

could enroll in and complete this course and then transfer the "academic" credit to a

Regental institution as a substitute for a more traditional/rigorous version of the

course. Even my "non-majors" CHEM 106 students must have a college algebra (or

equivalent mathematics foundational) course to ensure that they possess the fundamental

quantitative tools for success in a course devoted to the study of atomic, molecular and

energetic phenomena. In the final analysis, this course fails to pass muster as an

equivalent CHEM106 course at virtually all levels. I would thus object strenuously to

this course (as described) being awarded as a substitute for CHEM106 (at least my

version of it). Such courses are likely to significantly undermine/diminish intellectualism

throughout the system. Thank you for the opportunity to contribute my expertise to this

important process. I hope that my review is helpful in completing your charge.

PHYS 111: No pre-requisites required, general calculus I suggested . The Lab

component offered by the StraighterLine requires home lab exercises for the material

covered in first 7 chapters. There are no experiments available for the remaining 6

chapters – for example, the following subjects are not covered in the lab component

Solids and Fluids

Thermodynamics

Sound

ATTACHMENT I 10

The StraighterLine lab component does not require from students writing the lab reports

for each conducted experiment – Lab report is a key component in student’s learning.

Lab reports are design such that student has to provide the science context for the

conducted experiment, primary goal of the lab, explain the procedure and an importance

of the collected data, analyze data, discussed obtained results, compare the experimental

results with theoretical expectations, discuss possible improvements of the experimental

techniques used in the experiment . The StraighterLine lab component forces students to

work alone. Students don’t get opportunity to develop crucial in science team work skills.

Students are allowed to 10 hours of free tutoring help – when taking the actual PHYS111

course they have access to the instructor (in person and via email) as well as tutor (also at

no charge). Final score based on 4 graded tests, midterm exam, final exam and lab

quizzes; homework assignments – ungraded StraighterLine is not an accredited

educational institution Does not align with PHYS 111

PHYS 113: No pre-requisites required, general calculus I and general physics I

suggested. The StraighterLine lab component does not require from students writing the

lab reports for each conducted experiment – Lab report is a key component in student’s

learning. Lab reports are design such that student has to provide the science context for

the conducted experiment, primary goal of the lab, explain the procedure and an

importance of the collected data, analyze data, discussed obtained results, compare the

experimental results with theoretical expectations, discuss possible improvements of the

experimental techniques used in the experiment. The StraighterLine lab component

forces students to work alone. Students don’t get opportunity to develop crucial in

science team work skills. Students are allowed to 10 hours of free tutoring help – when

taking the actual PHYS113 course they have access to the instructor (in person and via

email) as well as tutor (also at no charge). Final score based on 10 graded tests, midterm

exam, final exam and lab quizzes; homework assignments – ungraded. StraighterLine is

not an accredited educational institution. Partially aligns with PHYS113

Northern State University

I took a brief look at the course descriptions for the courses listed under the Math and

Science goals (5 and 6). Based on the course descriptions, I’d say that all of the courses

are equivalent to the NSU courses listed. The one that least matched the catalog

description was Calculus II, but it did contain at least part of the content listed in our

catalog description.

South Dakota School of Mines & Technology

BIOL 101: No “formal” feedback because this course is not included in any Mines

program; however, the department head said the course “does not look unreasonable”

CHEM 106: No “formal” feedback because this course is not included in any Mines

program; however, the department head said the course “does not look unreasonable”

South Dakota State University

CHEM 106: Not Equivalent

PHYS 111 & 113: Not Equivalent

ATTACHMENT I 11

October 31, 2013 Dr. Chuck Staben, Provost Dr. Dale Pietrzak, Director, Office of Academic Evaluation and Assessment Office of Academic Affairs Slagle Hall 103 University of South Dakota Dear Dr. Staben and Dr. Pietrzak, At the request of Dr. Pietrzak, the StraighterLine general education offerings have been evaluated for the College of Arts & Sciences by David Carr (Chair, Economics), John Dudley (Chair, English), Kurt Hackemer (Chair, History), Kaius Helenurm (Chair, Biology), Angela Helmer (Coordinator, Spanish), Christina Keller (Director, Physics), Leroy Meyer (Professor of Philosophy), Jack Niemonen (Coordinator, Sociology), William Richardson (Chair, Political Science), Andrew Sykes (Chair, Chemistry), and Dan Van Peursem (Chair, Mathematical Sciences). Several systemic weaknesses were identified in the StraighterLine model. Based on this evaluation, the College of Arts & Sciences does not believe that we should accept StraighterLine products as equivalent to USD courses. The chief obstacles to acceptance are as follows:

Testing arrangements lack adequate safeguards. o Proctoring of exams is inadequate, or in some cases, apparently absent. It seems

that a person other than the student claiming the credit could easily have taken the exams.

o Open book exams are used in disciplines where that is a questionable practice. Course design is problematic.

o In many instances, point totals are derived mostly from unproctored quizzes or exercises. Students can pass without any evidence that they did the work themselves.

o Most courses appear to consist of a textbook with supplementary multiple-choice exercises, quizzes, and exams. Typically, no instruction is provided, and the textbook is the principal (or only) source of content. University courses are not designed in this fashion.

o Student reports on the StraighterLine website indicate that students can routinely pass exams by identifying the required information in the textbook during an exam and selecting the correct multiple-choice answer, with little preparation or study. These reports suggest an unacceptably low level of expectations for students.

If equivalencies were approved, StraighterLine could become an appealing path for

ATTACHMENT I 12

students seeking to satisfy unpopular general education requirements such as college algebra, doing so cheaply and without having gained knowledge of the material. Students receiving credit in this fashion would be disadvantaged when content knowledge is expected in subsequent courses.

Other issues raised by faculty include: In the few instances in which assignments are not multiple-choice, there is little evidence

of graders having appropriate academic credentials. Some product descriptions may misrepresent content or purpose. For example, the

courses proposed as PHYS 111 and PHYS 113 use an algebra-based physics textbook when a calculus-based course would be more appropriate for majors in physics or chemistry.

We do not regard the American Council on Education (ACE) recommendations as sufficient to justify the awarding of credit in the case of StraighterLine. As Associate Dean Emily Haddad confirmed in a phone conversation with an ACE representative, ACE bases its recommendations on course content, student learning outcomes, and evaluation instruments. Based solely on the factors consider by ACE, most of the courses reviewed could be perceived as minimally acceptable. However, they are not authentic academic experiences because of the structural problems. In general, BOR universities accept transfer credit only from accredited institutions, which StraighterLine is not. ACE recommendations can provide an alternative path, used at USD for evaluation of military transcripts and for awarding foreign language course credit based on proficiency testing. Neither instance is comparable to what is being requested for StraighterLine. In the case of the military transcripts, we can safely assume that the student reporting credit earned through military training is the person who actually completed the training. Students using ACE recommendations for foreign language credit take their language exams in USD’s on-campus testing center, where the environment is secure and the student’s identity confirmed. Ultimately, the faculty concluded—and I concur—that completion of a StraighterLine product does not indicate the competency expected of students completing a USD course. Although the content covered by the textbook generally meet minimum criteria, the expectations for student performance fall far short. There can be no assurance that students passing have achieved the outcomes stipulated. The testing framework lacks integrity and the assessments appear insufficient to measure students’ learning. Because of these quality control problems, we strongly recommend that the South Dakota Board of Regents not approve equating any StraighterLine product to a BOR-approved general education course. Sincerely,

Matthew C. Moen Dean, College of Arts & Sciences Lohre Distinguished Professor

ATTACHMENT I 13

Attachment II

StraighterLine Guidelines for Regental Institutions

Acceptance of credit is governed by BOR policy 2:5 Transfer of Credit.

Minimum

Scores

Credit

Hours

Course

Prefix

Course

Number(s)

System General Education

Requirement

Institution Graduation

Requirement

Biology, Introduction To

BHSU 70% 4 BIOL 101 yes no

DSU 70% 4 BIOL 101 yes no

NSU 70% 4 BIOL 101 yes no

SDSMT 70% 4 BIOL 101 yes no

SDSU 70% 4 BIOL 101 yes no

USD 70% 4 BIOL 101 yes no

General Chemistry I

BHSU 70% 4 CHEM 106 yes no

DSU 70% 4 CHEM 106 yes no

NSU 70% 4 CHEM 106 yes no

SDSMT 70% 4 CHEM 106 yes no

SDSU 70% 4 CHEM 106 yes no

USD 70% 4 CHEM 106 yes no

Economics I: Macroeconomics

BHSU 70% 3 ECON 202 yes yes

DSU 70% 3 ECON 202 yes no

NSU 70% 3 ECON 202 yes yes

SDSMT 70% 3 ECON 202 yes no

SDSU 70% 3 ECON 202 yes no

USD 70% 3 ECON 202 yes no

Economics II: Microeconomics

BHSU 70% 3 ECON 201 yes yes

DSU 70% 3 ECON 201 yes no

NSU 70% 3 ECON 201 yes yes

SDSMT 70% 3 ECON 201 yes no

SDSU 70% 3 ECON 201 yes no

USD 70% 3 ECON 201 yes no

Developmental Writing

BHSU 70% 3 ENGL 033 no no

DSU 70% 3 ENGL 033 no no

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NSU 70% 3 ENGL 033 no no

SDSM&T 70% 3 ENGL 033 no no

SDSU 70% 3 ENGL 033 no no

USD 70% 3 ENGL 033 no no

StraighterLine Placement Guidelines Continued

Minimum

Scores

Credit

Hours

Course

Prefix

Course

Number(s)

System General Education

Requirement

Institution Graduation

Requirement

English Composition I

BHSU 70% 3 ENGL 101 yes no

DSU 70% 3 ENGL 101 yes no

NSU 70% 3 ENGL 101 yes no

SDSMT 70% 3 ENGL 101 yes no

SDSU 70% 3 ENGL 101 yes no

USD 70% 3 ENGL 101 yes no

English Composition II

BHSU 70% 3 ENGL 201 yes no

DSU 70% 3 ENGL 201 yes no

NSU 70% 3 ENGL 201 yes no

SDSMT 70% 3 ENGL 201 yes no

SDSU 70% 3 ENGL 201 yes no

USD 70% 3 ENGL 201 yes no

Western Civilization I

BHSU 70% 3 HIST 121 yes yes

DSU 70% 3 HIST 121 yes no

NSU 70% 3 HIST 121 yes yes

SDSMT 70% 3 HIST 121 yes no

SDSU 70% 3 HIST 121 yes yes

USD 70% 3 HIST 121 yes no

Western Civilization II

BHSU 70% 3 HIST 122 yes yes

DSU 70% 3 HIST 122 yes no

NSU 70% 3 HIST 122 yes yes

SDSMT 70% 3 HIST 122 yes no

SDSU 70% 3 HIST 122 yes yes

USD 70% 3 HIST 122 yes no

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United States History I

BHSU 70% 3 HIST 151 yes yes

DSU 70% 3 HIST 151 yes yes

NSU 70% 3 HIST 151 yes yes

SDSMT 70% 3 HIST 151 yes no

SDSU 70% 3 HIST 151 yes yes

USD 70% 3 HIST 151 yes no

StraighterLine Placement Guidelines Continued

Minimum

Scores

Credit

Hours

Course

Prefix

Course

Number(s)

System General Education

Requirement

Institution Graduation

Requirement

United States History II

BHSU 70% 3 HIST 152 yes yes

DSU 70% 3 HIST 152 yes yes

NSU 70% 3 HIST 152 yes yes

SDSMT 70% 3 HIST 152 yes no

SDSU 70% 3 HIST 152 yes yes

USD 70% 3 HIST 152 yes no

Introductory Algebra

BHSU 70% 3 MATH 021 no no

DSU 70% 3 MATH 021 no no

NSU 70% 3 MATH 021 no no

SDSM&T 70% 3 MATH 021 no no

SDSU 70% 3 MATH 021 no no

USD 70% 3 MATH 021 no no

College Algebra

BHSU 70% 4 MATH 102 yes no

DSU 70% 4 MATH 102 yes no

NSU 70% 4 MATH 102 yes no

SDSM&T 70% 4 MATH 102 yes no

SDSU 70% 4 MATH 102 yes no

USD 70% 4 MATH 102 yes no

Pre-calculus

BHSU 70% 4 MATH 115 yes no

DSU 70% 4 MATH 115 yes no

NSU 70% 4 MATH 115 yes no

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SDSM&T 70% 4 MATH 115 yes no

SDSU 70% 4 MATH 115 yes no

USD 70% 4 MATH 115 yes no

General Calculus I

BHSU 70% 4 MATH 123 yes no

DSU 70% 4 MATH 123 yes no

NSU 70% 4 MATH 123 yes no

SDSM&T 70% 4 MATH 123 yes no

SDSU 70% 4 MATH 123 yes no

USD 70% 4 MATH 123 yes no

StraighterLine Placement Guidelines Continued

Minimum

Scores

Credit

Hours

Course

Prefix

Course

Number(s)

System General Education

Requirement

Institution Graduation

Requirement

General Calculus II

BHSU 70% 4 MATH 125 yes no

DSU 70% 4 MATH 125 yes no

NSU 70% 4 MATH 125 yes no

SDSM&T 70% 4 MATH 125 yes no

SDSU 70% 4 MATH 125 yes no

USD 70% 4 MATH 125 yes no

Philosophy, Introduction to

BHSU 70% 3 PHIL 100 yes yes

DSU 70% 3 PHIL 100 yes no

NSU 70% 3 PHIL 100 yes yes

SDSMT 70% 3 PHIL 100 yes no

SDSU 70% 3 PHIL 100 yes no

USD 70% 3 PHIL or

CLHU

100 yes no

General Physics I

BHSU 70% 4 PHYS 111/111L yes no

DSU 70% 4 PHYS 111/111L yes no

NSU 70% 4 PHYS 111/111L yes no

SDSM&T 70% 4 PHYS 111/111L yes no

SDSU 70% 4 PHYS 111/111L yes no

USD 70% 4 PHYS 111/111L yes no

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General Physics II

BHSU 70% 4 PHYS 113/113L yes no

DSU 70% 4 PHYS 113/113L yes no

NSU 70% 4 PHYS 113/113L yes no

SDSM&T 70% 4 PHYS 113/113L yes no

SDSU 70% 4 PHYS 113/113L yes no

USD 70% 4 PHYS 113/113L yes no

American Government

BHSU 70% 3 POLS 100 yes yes

DSU 70% 3 POLS 100 yes no

NSU 70% 3 POLS 100 yes yes

SDSMT 70% 3 POLS 100 yes no

SDSU 70% 3 POLS 100 yes no

USD 70% 3 POLS 100 yes no

StraighterLine Placement Guidelines Continued

Minimum

Scores

Credit

Hours

Course

Prefix

Course

Number(s)

System General Education

Requirement

Institution Graduation

Requirement

Sociology, Introduction to

BHSU 70% 3 SOC 100 yes yes

DSU 70% 3 SOC 100 yes yes

NSU 70% 3 SOC 100 yes yes

SDSMT 70% 3 SOC 100 yes no

SDSU 70% 3 SOC 100 yes yes

USD 70% 3 SOC 100 yes no

Spanish I

BHSU 70% 4 SPAN 101 yes no

DSU 70% 4 SPAN 101 yes no

NSU 70% 4 SPAN 101 yes yes

SDSM&T 70% 4 SPAN 101 yes no

SDSU 70% 4 SPAN 101 yes no

USD 70% 4 SPAN 101 yes no

Spanish II

BHSU 70% 4 SPAN 102 yes no

DSU 70% 4 SPAN 102 yes no

NSU 70% 4 SPAN 102 yes no

ATTA

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T II 18

SDSM&T 70% 4 SPAN 102 yes no

SDSU 70% 4 SPAN 102 yes no

USD 70% 4 SPAN 102 yes no

ATTA

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MEN

T II 19