In the fall semester of 2023, we began a process of transitioning 110 + 115.1/115.2 to a model that more closely follows the ALP guidelines. This post describes the changes from the previous model to the current one. It is geared toward instructors who are new to teaching 115.1/115.2, or instructors who taught in the previous model and have not yet experienced the new one.

What changed?

115.1/115.2 is a class that was always supposed to follow the ALP model, short for Accelerated Learning Program. For those who don’t know about this model, the idea is that rather than putting students in a class like English 108 or English 109 if they don’t really need those classes before they take 110, taking 110 and 115 together with the same instructor and the same cohort of peers gives them a chance to just take 110 with some additional built-in support. The extra time functions almost like a supplementary conference hour with one half of your own 110 section. 

The previous version of the class from the fall of 2020 to the spring of 2023 followed a studio model. This means that everyone who taught 115 was teaching students from different sections of 110. While some students were taking a 110 that shared a course theme and course calendar, students did not usually share an instructor.

As of the fall of 2023, we have transitioned to a version of this class that more closely follows the ALP model. This means that students in every 115 now share a 110 instructor, and are enrolled in a section with half of their 110 class.

Why is this change happening?

The research on ALP has suggested that this model can help students to persist through FYW and through college, generally. This is partly because it gives students more face time with their instructor and a cohort of the same peers. 

The previous studio model did have various advantages. For example, it might be helpful to have someone else offer a different explanation of course content who wasn’t the original instructor. Since everyone who teaches 115 also teaches 110, Instructor A’s explanation of a lens analysis essay might differ from Instructor B’s explanation. That can be great for students. Because our 110s have a conference hour, this could also make 115 feel a bit less redundant. Additionally, students could take the class when it fit best in their schedule.

However, the studio model also had some disadvantages. For example, if there were 10 students in a 115 section, and 8 of them were taking 110 with different people teaching different themes, different dues dates, and different expectations, 115 could feel a little confusing. It was also more prep for most instructors. It could also feel like a separate class where students were doing slightly more decontextualized “skills” work, rather than the direct support that it was designed to be.

Transitioning to the new model

All 110 and 115.1/115.2 sections are now going to be administratively linked within our course scheduling system. This means that if an instructor is assigned to teach a 115.1 or a 115.2, half of the students in one of their 110 sections will also appear in their 115.1 or 115.2. Therefore, out of a class of 20 students from the same first-year writing section, 10 students have the chance to also enroll in 115.1/115.2  

Students are still going to be placed into 110+115 sections based on the results of a placement test and a placement scoring scheme that is determined by CUNY Central. However, other students will be able to elect to take 110+115 because they think that it could benefit them. Before a student’s advising session, they are asked to consult this guide to first-year writing to determine which classes they might want to take. Advisors have worked closely with the FYW team to help us explain the class’s design and benefits to incoming first-year and transfer students.

Other changes

This change led to a few changes that instructors should understand:

• In previous semesters, we’ve asked for instructors’ help in advertising sections of 115 to all 110 students. This won’t be as necessary anymore, because joining a 115 would mean that a student would need to join the accompanying 110.
  
  Instead, of asking all instructors to approach students who might benefit from taking 115, we’re going to only ask 110+115.1/115.2 instructors to mention the option of joining the class to the students in your linked sections. Please avoid identifying students who are in 115.1/115.2, or suggesting that this class is designed for “struggling” students. It’s just another support option for students who would like to earn credit toward graduation within a more structured environment. It’s a chance to join a small class with some built-in accountability where you can get started on homework with the instructor in the room. For in-state, full-time students, there is also no additional tuition fee.

• In CUNY First, if you are not teaching a Navitas section, it will appear that you’re teaching three separate classes. But really, there are just two: English 110 and English 115. You will have two English 110 rosters: one for your “unlinked” section, and one for your “linked” section. While a bit clunky, separating the sections in this way allows Advising and the Registrar’s office to keep track of the fulfillment of graduation requirements. It also helps our program with more efficiently understanding the failure and withdrawal rate of students in linked sections.
  
• At the end of the semester, if you’re not teaching a Navitas section, you’ll also have grade rosters for each section: one for your unlinked section, one for your linked section, and one for your 115.
  
• If you are a Blackboard user, you might need to merge your sections of Blackboard. The section merge tool allows instructors to merge class rosters from source/child courses to a designation/parent course so that the instructor just needs to post course materials on the destination/parent course site. This allows all students to access the course materials. Here are some instructors provided to us by ITS, who can also help if you run into any problems: How to Merge your Courses using the Section Merge Tool in Blackboard

Can someone pass 110 and fail 115, or the other way around?

It’s likely that a student enrolled in both 110 and 115 would end up passing or failing both since they’re effectively the same class. You wouldn’t pass 110 and fail conference hour. But it’s possible that you’d have a student who only shows up to and does work for 110 and never / seldom for 115. If that’s the case, then yes, it would both be pedagogically and also administratively possible to fail one and pass the other or to make different grades in each. 

If a student in your 110+115 withdraws from your 110, they will be automatically prompted to withdraw from 115. They have to drop both at the same time. 

Does my 115.1 need to have additional assignments?

You’re teaching a 115 because you’re doing a great job teaching 110, so we will defer to your expertise. The advice of FYW is to take a “less is more” approach to this class. 

Other areas of this site contain some great, concrete ideas for how to structure your time. Now that these classes are linked, 115 can closely follow 110, so it’s more possible to build your syllabus around where your 110 students usually need some extra class time to unpack something rather than an approximation of where all of your 115 students might be in their various 110s. You can also pivot away from your syllabus to address emergent questions, to finish up a conversation that started in class, or to take a deeper dive.  

This is a long way of saying “no, they don’t need to do extra assignments.”  The work can be an extension of your 110.    

Do I still have to make a 115 syllabus?

Yes. You should still make a syllabus, and it should still contain all of the stuff that your other syllabi have to have. But it can very closely follow your 110. We are experimenting with the option of making a combined 110+115 syllabus where everything appears in one place for convenience, so models of this should be available soon.

If you have other questions or want to talk through strategies or anything else, please reach out to the Directors of FYW.