COLLEGE & CAREER READINESS

The Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education serves as the University's senior lead in developing, implementing and evaluating the college and career readiness programming at UK. Even before the Kentucky General Assembly passed the 2009 Senate Bill 1 (SB1), UK has worked collaboratively to identify and address the needs of our incoming first year students as they transition from high school to the academic rigor and social climate of a public research postsecondary institution.

CHALLENGES

The state's educational institutions are working together to address the two main challenges established by the passage of SB1:

  • Reduce college remediation rates of recent high school graduates by at least 50% by 2014; and,

  • Increase the college completion rates of students enrolled in one or more developmental education courses by 3%.

For more information on the University of Kentucky's initiatives regarding the state's College and Career Readiness unified strategies, see the Kentucky Core Academic Standards for Postsecondary Education website.

KEY STRATEGIES

Accelerated Learning Opportunities (expansion of access to college-credit earning courses such as Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate programs and dual credit opportunities)


The University Faculty Senate is considering a proposal to codify dual credit policies and procedures at UK [.pdf]. The Division of Undergraduate Education is working with the UK College of Education to formulate a proposal for a UK Early College program that will be based either in or nearby UK's main campus and targeting central Kentucky's most gifted high school juniors and seniors. For information on how UK awards college credit to successful test-takers of AP or IB completers, see the UK Registrar's website.

Secondary Intervention Programs (development of standards-based alignments in transitional coursework from middle to high school and from high school to college or career)


UK outreach programs (such as the College of Engineering's Project Lead the Way programming, College of Education's KY P20 Innovation Labs or the Partnership Institute for Math and Science Education Reform (PIMSER)) and individual academic departments and faculty work directly with Kentucky P-12 schools and instructors to align Kentucky Core Content curriculumand its implementation in the classroom in a way that challenges students to reach toward a smoother transition to postsecondary curriculum.

College and Career Readiness Advising (expanded implementation of the KDE's Individual Learning Plan and comprehensive advising programs with complete and up to date information about Kentucky postsecondary majors and Kentucky jobs.)


UK's Academic Preparation Program (APP) works with low-scoring high school students during the admissions/application process to supplement their academic advising and intervene with additional, free tutorials in mathematics, reading and writing as well as one-on-one counseling. Test preparation workshops are also offered out of the Office of Academic Enhancement. The Center for Academic Resources and Enrichment Services (CARES) offers a very low cost Freshman Summer Program as a bridge intervention for selected recent high school graduates to provide an intensive advising and academic experience as students transition to UK for their first fall semester.

Postsecondary College Persistence and Degree Completion (focusing on bridge programming, accelerated learning opportunities, and student support and intervention systems)


The Provost's Retention Workgroup, led by the Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education, recommends, oversees and implements innovative projects and programming University-wide to raise retention and graduation rates. Our goal is to enable all students at UK, including those who are identified for the UK Academic Preparation Program, to get the personalized support they need and the academic challenge to succeed. Starting with the University Academic Orientation courses, UK 101 in particular, UK students are encouraged to immerse themselves in the UK culture. The UK Faculty Toolkit supports the implementation of the UK Core Design Principles #3 and #4:

  • UK CORE DP #3: A revised curriculum will intentionally identify and strengthen the connections between the general education curriculum and the student's major field of study.
  • UK CORE DP #4: A revised general education curriculum will be designed to smooth students' transition from high school to a research university, and to establish the foundations for advanced college-level learning.