Program in Course Redesign

Brigham Young University

Course Title: English Composition
Redesign Coordinator: Gary Hatch

Brigham Young University (BYU) redesigned its first-year writing course, which enrolled ~2950 students in about 166 sections (~18 students) each academic year. The course was originally taught primarily by graduate instructors in the English MA program and suffered from problems of inconsistency and inefficiency; student evaluations revealed a wide range of quality. The instructors tried to achieve course objectives in a multitude of ways, and their inexperience led them to spend a significant amount of time preparing for classes, duplicating the efforts of others. The redesign planned to reduce the amount of time students spent in the classroom from three hours to one hour per week. A series of interactive multimedia lessons, more one-on-one time with faculty, and additional peer-to-peer sessions were developed to replace the time students used to spend in class. These lessons were designed to standardize the curriculum across all sections, provide students with a more consistent experience, and reduce the time graduate instructors spent preparing and presenting in the classroom. The redesigned course anticipated a reduction in instructional costs by decreasing the total hours each instructor spent teaching the course, increasing class size from 20 to 25, and reducing the hours needed to train and supervise new instructors. The cost-per-student was anticipated to drop from $205 to $122, an estimated cost savings of 40%. The results of the completed redesign can be found by following the links listed below under Final Report.

Initial Planning (as of 7/1/01)

Interim Progress Report (as of 12/31/02)

Final Report (as of 10/31/03)

 

Program in Course Redesign Quick Links:

Program In Course Redesign Main Page...

Lessons Learned:
Round 1...
Round II...
Round III...

Savings:
Round I...
Round II...
Round III...

Project Descriptions:
Sorted by Discipline...
Sorted by Model...
Sorted by Success...
Sorted by Grant Rounds...