Student Success

Two students sitting in the Urban Plaza, talking to each other

SINQ Curriculum Redesign

Program Status: Planning

The purpose of this project is to redesign Portland State University’s Sophomore Inquiry (SINQ)  curriculum to foster community and embed career exploration and research/writing support. This project was initiated to address the DFW rates in SINQ classes, particularly for those students who take classes online, as research indicates that students who take online SINQs have higher DFW rates than students who take in-person SINQs. At PSU about 45% of students take an online SINQ. A broader impact of this project is to further communicate the impact and value of general education and identify how the SINQ classes support students at PSU and their degree path. Phase two of the project focuses on the in-person SINQ curriculum and will examine the key outcomes for SINQ courses and explore the potential benefits of a shared curriculum, as well as establish writing and research benchmarks.

Accomplished

  • Designed a set curriculum for mentors that meets repeatability and adaptability parameters, and incorporates student success initiatives.
  • Embedded career exploration, and research/writing workshops into the mentor curriculum.
  • Collaborated with the working group and OAI to create modules in Qualtrics for online students.
  • Established a work group for professional development days
  • Secured facilitators for professional development days.
  • Solidified dates for professional development days in September.

In Progress

  • Planning professional development in the fall for faculty and mentors.
  • Working group is creating the agenda, materials, and templates for the professional development workshops.
  • Professional development day invites are going out to SINQ online faculty,
  • Planning & timelines for the second phase of the program (in-person SINQs)
  • Collaborating with the working group and OAI to draft Canvas modules for online students
  • Reviewing the assessment strategies of phase one and the data available to evaluate effectiveness.
  • Considering a sustainability plan, with a focus on how to support SINQ online faculty to continually review their curriculum.
  • Reviewing the maintenance plan for the workshops.

Project Team

Executive Sponsor: Erin Shortlidge
Project Sponsor: Andrea Garrity and Lindsey Wilkinson
Leads: Lindsey Wilkinson and Meredith Michaud 
Project Manager: Pamela Bock
Team: Dana Lundell, Daneen Bergland, Rowanna Carpenter, Meredith Michaud, Katie Johnson (Ad Hoc), Lindsey Wilkinson (Ad Hoc), Greg Flores (Ad Hoc), Dan DeWeese (Ad Hoc)
Collaborators: Ilka Bailey, Shoshana Zeisman-Pereyo, Kim Willson-St. Clair, Taylor Schwab, Misty Hamideh