Requisite Request

Definitions

Recent regulations require the Curriculum Committee to separately review and approve any of the following:

            Prerequisite
            Corequisite
            Recommendation for Preparation Statement
            Limitation on Enrollment

The words Prerequisite, Corequisite or Recommended Preparation are printed in the class schedule and catalog. It is important for you to understand the definitions of these terms.

Prerequisite means a condition of enrollment that a student is required to meet in order to demonstrate current readiness for enrollment in a course or educational program. A prerequisite represents a set of skills or a body of knowledge that a student must possess prior to enrollment and without which the student is highly unlikely to succeed in the course or program. Students will not be permitted to enroll in such courses and programs without the appropriate prerequisite.

Corequisite means a condition of enrollment consisting of a course that a student is required to take simultaneously in order to enroll in another course. A corequisite represents a set of skills or a body of knowledge that a student must acquire through concurrent enrollment in another course and without which the student is highly unlikely to succeed. Students must concurrently enroll in the corequisite course.

Recommended Preparation means a condition of enrollment that a student is advised, but not required, to meet before or in conjunction with enrollment in a course or educational program. Recommended preparation represents a set of skills or a body of knowledge with which a student will achieve a greater depth or breadth of knowledge of course material but without which the student is still likely to succeed in the course or program.

Limitation on Enrollment is a restriction on access to a class which may be placed as part of an enrollment management strategy that may or may not depend upon the academic preparation of the student--these limitations are described below.

Types of Prerequisites Established by the Board of Governors

Standard prerequisite or corequisite--a requirement commonly found in three or more CSU or UC locations for transfer courses identical to ours, often a circumstance in which the University will not accept the course for transfer unless it carries a specific prerequisite. For example, CHEM 1A requires MATH 130, Intermediate Algebra.

Sequential courses within and across disciplines--a requirement associated with a course which is part of a sequence (within the same discipline) or crosses the discipline lines, is the most common form of prerequisite. The Subcommittee expects that Long Beach City College courses will be listed rather than using phrases such as "basic programming skills". For example, AVPLT 61 requires AVPLT 50; ADN 12A requires BIO 60L.

Courses in communications or computational skills--these cases pertain to departments other than English or Math where the faculty propose t o require a communications or computational skill competency as a prerequisite. For example, R/TV 30AD requires eligibility for ENGL 1.

Cut scores on assessment procedures--these requirements demand that a student receive an appropriate placement recommendation based upon an assessment process which, according to state guidelines, must involve multiple measures. For example, ENGL 1 requires qualification through the English assessment process.

Program prerequisite--a requirement that students must complete one or more courses of study before they can begin a program such as the registered nursing (ADN) program. The prerequisite courses must be related to one of the required courses in the program and the expectation is that once into the program sequence the student would not be able to take the prerequisite course because the program is too time demanding.

Health and Safety--a requirement that students must not pose a risk to themselves or to others in the course. For example, ADN 12AL requires a CPR card. Usually these requirements arise from contracts with outside agencies where we place our students. When that is the case, a Content Review is not required.

Recency or other measures of readiness--a requirement that students demonstrate a readiness to learn which has been achieved in a designated period of time before their proposed enrollment in the course or that a certain level of competency be established such as swimming proficiency certified by the Red Cross before taking the Lifeguard class at LBCC.

Some of the different types of prerequisites or corequisites require a different review process. However, the first step in all cases, except a Limitation on Enrollment and Health and Safety, is to prepare a Content Review using the Requisite Section on the web outline.

Limitations on Enrollment is an audition or try-out requirement associated with public performance or intercollegiate competition, honors or blocks of courses intended for a cohort of students who will become a learning community. These are not prerequisites per se, but are addressed in the same sections of public administrative regulation. A different type of content review is required. For example, MUSIC 38AD requires an audition and POLSC 1H requires qualification for the honors program.

Content Review Procedures

The purpose of Content Review is to clarify the skills and concepts developed in a course, to identify possible gaps in skill development between a course and any requisite or recommended preparation, and to assure smooth transition between the two courses.

The goal of Content Review is to identify entrance skills and knowledge the faculty anticipate a student will have before s/he enter the "target course" to which a requisite is being attached and then to make a comparison with the exit competencies from the proposed prerequisite or corequisite course. The purpose is to determine the extent to which the entrance skills and knowledge are essential to the student's success. That is to say, without the entrance skills and knowledge, is a student highly unlikely to succeed in the "target" course?

The goal for a statement of recommended preparation is to identify entering skills and knowledge which would help a student but without which the student could still succeed in the "target" course.

The general steps in a Content Review are as follows:

Step 1. Define entrance expectations in the "target" course (the course for which a prerequisite is being requested).

Faculty who teach the "target" course should review the course outline, syllabus, texts and reading assignments, tests, and any other course materials used.
Each instructor should compile a list of "entering skills" that they anticipate students must have mastered.
For a prerequisite, the entering skills are those without which, in the professional judgment of the instructor, the student will not likely succeed in the course.
For a corequisite course, these skills are those without which, in the professional judgment of the instructor, it is highly unlikely that the student will succeed in the course.
For a recommended preparation, the entering skills are those which will enrich or deepen the student's knowledge obtained from the course but without which the student will still succeed in the course.
Those instructors, who teach the course should then meet, discuss their lists of anticipated entering skills and knowledge, resolve any differences, and compile a final list by consensus.

Step 2. Identify the means of obtaining abilities, skills and knowledge.

Once entrance expectations are clarified, the faculty should then suggest how the necessary abilities, skills, and knowledge can be obtained or assessed. Courses in the college's curriculum or assessment processes should be identified that provide the exit skills needed for the target course. For courses in the curriculum, these exit skills are listed in the "Student Outcomes" section of the course outline of record ("Upon completion of the course the student should be able to....").

Step 3. Compare the exit skills anticipated from the requisite course and the entering skills expected for the target course.

To compare the exit skills of the requisite course with the entering skills of the "target" course, it is suggested that a matrix be formed with entering skills across the top and exit skills down the side. At the points where the two match, a notation can be made in the matrix. The faculty should then examine the matrix to determine if the entering skills are met by the requisite course. The question to be raised is, "are the exit skills of the requisite course much lower, about the same, or much greater than the entering skills of the outcome course?"
If the entering skills of the "target" course are substantively the same as the exit skills for the requisite course, then the choice is a good one. If the requisite exit criteria are greater or more diverse than the entering expectations of the outcome course, the faculty should carefully consider whether requiring the course as a requisite is justified or whether an alternative approach might be better.
If the exit skills do not clearly match the needs listed by the faculty of the "target" course, a discussion between the groups may be helpful. It may be that differing perceptions about the curriculum can be resolved, or that gaps which have been identified in the students' preparation can be corrected by modifying the curriculum of either the requisite course or the outcome course.
Upon completion of the Content Review by the discipline faculty, the Requisite Section in the web outline is prepared. List the subject and catalog number of the identified requisite then list four to six exit skills.

Limitation on Enrollment

In a limited number of cases, the faculty may propose a Limitation on Enrollment. However, their proposal must be supported by the following:

Curriculum guide(s) to identify the ways in which the course for which the limitation is being requested can be used for a degree or certificate;
Annotations on the curriculum guide indicating another course or courses which meet the same field of concentration requirements.

Limitation on Enrollment for public performance or intercollegiate competition classes will be subjected to an assessment to determine whether the limitation has a disproportionate impact on any historically underrepresented student group.

Establishing Basic Skills Pre- or Co-requisites for your Course or Program

In order to establish a basic skills pre- or co-requisite for your course or program,
several steps are required:

Step 1) On the Basic Skills Research Request Form (available on the Curriculum portion of the Office of Academic Services web site (http://oas.lbcc.edu) specify the single course, or the course within a program in the case of a program requisite, for which you are seeking a basic skills pre- or co-requisite.

Step 2) In the course outline of record and the Basic Skills Research Request Form specify the basic skills pre- or co-requisite competence, or course that you propose. In the course outline you make this entry on the face page in the textbox for requisites and also on the requisite tab. On the requisite tab you must list four to six outcomes from the prerequisite course that you feel are essential to support the learning in the course to which the prerequisite is to be attached.

Step 3) On the Basic Skills Research Request Form describe the content review process that lead to the proposal.

Step 4) On the Basic Skills Research Request Form, and in the draft course outline of record,

Determine the documentation you need to provide to the Course Evaluation Subcommittee to prove that your basic skills pre- or co-requisite is necessary and appropriate and without which a student is highly unlikely to succeed.
Go to the web course outline database and create a draft version of the course to which you want to attach the prerequisite and annotate the various tabs as described below.
For a reading prerequisite you should provide a reading level evaluation of the textbooks that has been developed by our reading program faculty and place that evaluation in the textbook tab; in the assignments tab indicate the reading assignments; and in the evaluation tab describe how those assignments are evaluated and used in the final grade for the course.
For a composition or math prerequisite you should use the assignments tab to describe the written/math assignments and in the evaluation tab describe how those assignments are evaluated and used in the final grade for the course.
Describe your rationale for requesting the basic skills prerequisite on the Basic Skills Research Request Form.

Step 5) Complete the additional questions on the Basic Skills Research Request Form, sign the form and submit it with the new course proposal or the course change form to the Curriculum Technician in Office of Academic Services.

Step 6) Appear at the assigned Course Evaluation Subcommittee meeting to discuss your proposal and rationale.

Step 7) Collect the appropriate documentation. Depending upon the documentation needed, you will be working with faculty in your department, the Matriculation Office, and/or the Office of Academic Services.

Institutional Research/Academic Services
Statistical Analysis Procedures and Standards

1) The minimum required data collection sample size for statistical analysis to establish a prerequisite or co-requisite for a specific course should be at least 100 students, including at least 20 students in the data collection research sample who did not meet the prerequisite or co-requisite requirement. This sample size guideline means that it may be necessary to collect data from multiple sections of the same courses for a period of more than one semester or collect data from a single section offering over several semesters.

2) Analysis of data collected through appropriate prerequisite research design procedures should indicate a statistically significant difference between students that have met the prerequisite or co-requisite for the course and students that have not met prerequisite or co-requisite with respect to the selected "student success" outcome measure.

3) Data will be analyzed using a comparison matrix. The chi-square statistical value obtained in such a comparison provides evidence as to whether a systematic relationship exists between variables. By comparing the two groups, students that have met the prerequisite or co-requisite and students that have not met the prerequisite or co-requisite, this statistical procedure determines whether or not the observed difference between the two groups with respect to the "student success" outcome measure is statistically significant. Even when the collection of empirical data may indicate differences between students that have met or not met the prerequisites as statistically significant, this observed difference may not be significant or meaningful on a practical level.

4) In order to evaluate the practical significance of observed statistical differences between the two groups of students, the data table comparison matrix will be examined to determine direct evidence as to the actual practical impact of the proposed prerequisite or co-requisite. Results should indicate:

an overall course success rate (grades dichotomized as "C" or better) of less than 33% for students that have not met the prerequisite or co-requisite and;
the proportion of students that have met the prerequisite or co-requisite and were successful in the course compared to students that had not met the prerequisite or co-requisite and were successful is greater than a "2-to-1" ratio.

These two conditions concerning course success rates represent the operational definition or statistical equivalent of the regulation criterion of "highly unlikely to succeed" that is to be used to demonstrate the necessity and appropriateness of a prerequisite or co-requisite.

5) If data analysis results for either final grade or alternative "student success" outcome measure selected indicate

a statistically significant difference between students that have met and students that have not met the proposed prerequisite or co-requisite with respect to the selected outcome measure, and
practical impact of the proposed prerequisite or co-requisite, the necessity and appropriateness of the prerequisite or co-requisite will have been demonstrated and justified (data analysis results for second outcome measure should provide "supportive" evidence).

Under these conditions, data analysis results will be presented to the Course Evaluation Subcommittee by the institutional researcher with a recommendation for approval of the proposed prerequisite or co-requisite.

If observed data analysis results for final grade and alternative "student success" outcome measure are seriously "divergent" with respect to statistical significance or practical impact, the institutional researcher will present all data analysis results to the Course Evaluation Subcommittee for review and evaluation without a specific recommendation concerning approval of the proposed prerequisite or co-requisite.

6) If the data analysis for either final grade or alternative "student success" outcome measure selected indicates a statistically significant difference between students that have met and students that have not met the proposed prerequisite or co-requisite, but a sufficient degree of practical impact is not indicated, data analysis results will be presented to the Course Evaluation Subcommittee by the institutional researcher with a recommendation that the proposed prerequisite or co-requisite be considered for approval only as recommended preparation for the course.

7) Responsibilities of Institutionalal Effectiveness Office

Prioritize requests for research in a specific semester, if necessary
Provide forms for data collection of measures other than final grades
Obtain student data from computer files on presence of pre/co-requisite, assessment placement recommendation, and final grades.
Determine presence of minimum sample size for analysis
- Minimum of 100 total students, across sections or semesters
-Minimum of 20 students who have not met the pre/co-requisite

8) Statistical Analysis Standards

Definitions of Success:
Grades: "C" or better or "Credit"
Evaluations of student preparedness using a five-point scale from:
"Very Prepared" to "Very unprepared"
Comparison of students with/without pre- or co-requisite and students who are successful/not successful must show:
-Statistically significant difference using the Chi square test between students with/without prerequisite
-Less than 33 percent of students without prerequisite are successful
-Students with prerequisite succeed in 2:1 ratio than students without prerequisite

References:

Academic Senate of the California Community Colleges. Establishing Prerequisites (1992) This paper defines the various levels of pre- and co-requisites as well as advisories. This is an excellent place to start.

Academic Senate of the California Community Colleges. The Model District Policy for Prerequisites, Co requisites, Advisories on Recommended Preparation, and Other Limitations on Enrollment (1993) This paper has more specific instructions on the research protocols.

Academic Senate of the California Community Colleges. Good Practice for the Implementation of Prerequisites (1997) This paper has easy to read, step by step examples of how to establish prerequisites.

Chancellor's Office of the California Community Colleges. Standards, Policies and Procedures for the Evaluation of Assessment Instruments Used in the California Community Colleges (2001)

Five additional documents are no longer available online:

Matriculation Local Research Options Project (1989).
Assessment Validation Project Local Research Options (1991)
Matriculation Evaluation: Monographs on Designs from the Local Research Options Project (February 1992)
- Monograph on Design 6: History Course Success Based on English Eligibility from Matriculation Evaluation (Spicer, Feb 1992).
Matriculation Evaluation: Phase III Local Research Options (June 1992)
- Monograph on Design 23 - Validating Course Prerequisites in Matriculation Evaluation
Prerequisites, Co-requisites, Advisories and Limitations on Enrollment (1997)

Long Beach City College
Institutional Research/Academic Services
Basic Skills Prerequisite Research Request Form

Course to which the basic skills prerequisite is to be attached ____________________________________

Basic skill prerequisite requested (name the course or assessment process) ______________________________________________________________

Please describe the content review process that was completed which lead to the request for a basic skills prerequisite and indicate when it was completed. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What is your rationale for requesting a basic skills prerequisite? ___________________________________________________________________________________

For example, in the case of reading :

What evidence can you share for the official college records regarding the reading level of the class material? (please type the reading level into the textbook tab of the outline of record)
________________________________________________________________________

How and to what extent does the grading in the course depend upon the reading ability of the students? (please type this into the evaluation tab of the outline of record and describe the reading assignments in the assignment tab) _____________________________________________________________________________

For example, in the case of composition :

What writing assignments are required of students? (describe the nature, length, frequency in the assignment tab of the outline of record)
_________________________________________________________________________________
How and to what extent does the grading in the course depend upon the writing ability of the students? (please respond to this in the evaluation tab of the outline) __________________________________________________________________________________

For example, in the case of computational skills :

What computational assignments are required of students? (describe the nature, level of math required, frequency in the assignment tab of the outline of record) ______________________________________________________________________________
How and to what extent does the grading in the course depend upon the computational ability of the students? (please describe the criteria for evaluation and the weight given in the evaluation tab of the outline) _____________________________________________________________________________

Please list the class numbers, meeting pattern, instructor and contact information, and projected enrollment in a future term where data collection is anticipated in order to complete the research required to support the request.

In addition to the final grade what additional measures of student success can you assist in collecting data? The matriculation research practices have identified these options, indicate which you are prepared to assist with and would like to use:

_____ Midterm grade (points earned at that time) based on work completed

_____ Instructor evaluation ratings of students' level of preparedness

_____ Student perceptions concerning level of preparedness

_____________________ _________________________________
Department Head & date School Dean & date

_______________________
Faculty Author & date

Scrutiny

Before final approval can be granted, the prerequisite, corequisite or recommended preparation proposal must be scrutinized by the Course Evaluation Subcommittee. Scrutiny for most types of prerequisites or corequisites and a statement of recommended preparation involves a review of the completed Requisite Section information.

However, prerequisites described above as being communications or computational skills, recency or other measures of readiness require a systematic data collection and analysis effort beyond the normal committee review. Please inquire with the Dean for Academic Services. Intense scrutiny and state approval are required for any assessment process used as a prerequisite. (Please inquire with the Coordinator for Matriculation Services.)

A program prerequisite will involve the type of scrutiny appropriate to the provisions of the prerequisite. In some cases the scrutiny can be an inspection of the Content Review materials or may be a data collection and analysis effort. All requisites must be reassessed once every six years.

What does the Course Evaluation Subcommittee look for in the Content Review and Analysis of data?

The task of the Course Evaluation Subcommittee is to scrutinize the requisite request on behalf of the Curriculum Committee. As such, the Subcommittee is looking at the Requisite Section on the web course outline document.

Most commonly, the Subcommittee may compare the target course outline and supporting materials to the statement of presumed skills and knowledge. The question to be answered is how representative and reasonable are the presupposed skills and knowledge, given what the outline indicates to be the demands of the target course.

The Subcommittee will compare the list of exit skills to the course outline for the proposed prerequisite. In this comparison the Subcommittee is seeking to validate the representativeness of the outcomes listed on the form with the outcomes identified in the course outline of record.

Finally, the Subcommittee will compare the lists of presupposed skills and knowledge and the prerequisite course outcomes. They will seek to determine the extent to which the two lists overlap or match.

For a communications and computational skills prerequisite, the Subcommittee will look for all of the points mentioned above with particular attention to the work in the target course which is evaluated. Key concerns are to determine the extent to which communications or computational skills are essential to the completion of that work and the relative weight of that work in the overall evaluation strategy in the target course.

In addition, the Office of Institutional Effectiveness will develop and analyze empirical data which will be shared with the Subcommittee. Therefore, the Subcommittee will be interested in the actual experience of students who are enrolled in or who have completed the target course. They will seek to determine the extent to which students without the requested prerequisite are successful in the target course and the extent to which students who have satisfied the prerequisite are nevertheless unsuccessful in the target course.

For an assessment/placement recommendation prerequisite, the Subcommittee will be guided by the results of research work done locally and an approval by the Chancellor's Office of the evaluation instrument used in the assessment process. The English, ESL and Mathematics curriculum sometimes uses a placement process which depends upon an assessment of the student. The assessment must include multiple measures which are designed to facilitate appropriate placement within the sequence of English, ESL and Mathematics classes.

The Multiple Measures Assessment is broad in scope. No list of factors that may be included in a multiple measures assessment is exhaustive; however, some general categories and examples can be outlined. Student factors may include cognitive skills which may be inferred from test scores, GPA and transcripts; emotional well-being, motivational level and educational goals which may be elicited in an interview or self-reported; social factors, such as life experiences, family responsibilities and social support for educational effort; economic factors, such as job demands and financial resources; and physical factors. Factors associated with the instructor, the institution, and the community can often interact with student factors to further indicate the potential for success in a given course. Part of the research effort is to identify the several specific multiple measures that best predict success in curriculum when combined with test scores.

For a program prerequisite, the Subcommittee will be guided by the nature of the program prerequisite. The issues of interest will be determined by the nature of the program prerequisite which could be a course, an assessment process or a measure of readiness. These prerequisites need to link with a specific course in the program.

For a health and safety prerequisite, the Subcommittee will look at the description of the potential health or safety hazard in light of the nature of the activities and equipment used in the target course. The Subcommittee will then compare the list of skills and knowledge essential to ensure that no one is endangered to the description of how the student might demonstrate that they possess those skills and knowledge.

For a readiness prerequisite, the Subcommittee will compare the target course outline and supporting materials to the statement of recency or other measure of readiness requested. The question to be answered is how representative and reasonable is the recency or other measure of readiness requirement, given what the outline and course supporting materials indicate to be the demands of the target course.

In addition, the Institutional Effectiveness Office will develop and analyze some empirical data which will be shared with the Subcommittee. Therefore, the Subcommittee will be interested in the actual experience of students who are enrolled in or who have completed the target course. They will seek to determine the extent to which students without the requested prerequisite are successful in the target course and the extent to which students who have satisfied the prerequisite are nevertheless unsuccessful in the target course.

On the whole, the Course Evaluation Subcommittee is required independently to assess the appropriateness and necessity of the proposed pre or corequisite. To conclude that the pre or corequisite is appropriate and necessary the Subcommittee and the departmental faculty must independently conclude that a student is highly unlikely to succeed in the course without having completed the prerequisite or having concurrent enrollment in the corequisite. In contrast, a recommended preparation statement requires the Subcommittee and the departmental faculty to conclude that it would be desirable for a student to have completed the preparation before enrolling in the course. In these cases the student is expected to be able to succeed without having accomplished the recommended preparation.