The Douglas College Newsletter m New Westminster Campus, David Lam Campus & Thomas Haney Campus N ; d S e September 1998 IN Douglas College | CARE celebrates anniversary, Literacy Day September 8 is International Literacy Day. For those who take literacy for granted, September 8 may pass by unnoticed. But there are dozens of people within the college community, like Sadie, who take literacy seriously. Sadie is one student upgrading her literacy skills through Douglas College’s I CARE Literacy program. Sadie also knows that literacy is not a guarantee for everyone. Statistics Canada estimates that roughly 22% of adult Canadians operate at the lowest level of literacy (a number that includes half of all Canadian seniors). StatsCan also reports that 25% of the population operates at the second lowest level of literacy. 1 CARE is aiming to change these numbers. So is Sadie. Raised in rural Alberta, in an area “between school districts,” the three oldest children in her family didn’t receive much education. Upon reaching retirement age, Sadie decided to return to school when her husband suddenly became ill a few years ago. “My husband did everything for me, but when he got sick I was just lost,” says Sadie. “Now, I try to do as much as I can. I can go to the bank now, I can read the street signs...” Sadie uses the materials in the classroom (approximately 5000 books) and I CARE’s computers to continuously upgrade her abilities. Working on her literacy skills for the last two and a half years with another retired woman, her tutor Val, Sadie has been able to write stories for the 1 CARE publication, Writing for our Future. Val herself gets a feeling of accomplishment from being a tutor. “One of the greatest pleasures of my life has been reading,” Val says, “and to be deprived of that would be terrible. We all have to do something in our community, and this is my choice.” Started by Douglas College instructors 20 years ago, I CARE (individualized Community Adult Reading Education) has been honoured with awards by the Association of Canadian Community Colleges and Public Libraries for Literacy. I CARE is also considered a prototype for other literacy programs in the province. It has helped hundreds of people in the Lower Mainland obtain the literacy skills that had passed them by earlier in their lives. “One of the myths of illiteracy in Canada is that it’s a result of missed opportunity, and reading skills can be picked up quickly,” says Joyce Cameron, Sadie, left, and her tutor Val. one of the coordinators of I CARE. “The truth is most of our students have had more schooling than Sadie but had real difficulties in school.” “A surprising number have fallen through the cracks— most have had a fair amount of life experience,” says Heather Campbell, a colleague of Cameron. “Often an incident or situation has propelled them here, the loss of a job, a change in their support network. Or they want to get a job. Or they just have a personal desire to read and write.” Cameron applauds those who take the first step. “A lot of our students are very self-conscious and think they’re stupid,” she says. “It takes a lot of courage to admit that you can’t read. Our tutors are good at helping people to realize that they can learn.” And after 20 years, I CARE is good at helping to build strong readers. For more information about I CARE, or to volunteer, call 527-5409. PLA comes of age; BC schools to recognize prior experience Providing an expanded PLA service is one of the strategic directions of Douglas College, John McKendry, Vice President of Instruction observes. “The intention now is to make flexible assessment part of what we offer as a college. The College would like to see it as one mote service we provide to learners, employers and the community,” he says. “It is another way in which we can support students, workers and employers and also deal with this economic recession BC is experiencing.” As well, PLA initiatives promise to help those already in the working world. “There are qualified people who work without recognized credentials,” says McKendry. “Traditionally, we haven’t been able to recognize these people that well. Now we have another way to support them in their career goals.” “Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) is not new,” says McKendry. “But what is new, is that this year we are offering it College-wide.” In actuality, PLA is also being taken province-wide, with 26 British Columbia colleges, universities and university-colleges receiving money from the provincial government for the initiative. Prior Learning Assessment is a mechanism educators use to grant credit for courses that, when considering the students’ previous work and life experience, may be redundant. “We have had an assessment service on campus for two years,” says McKendry of the office in Room 1800C at the New Westminster Campus. So far, the centre has served mostly CFCS and Business students, but that promises to change this fall with PLA playing a larger part in all programs and disciplines. Douglas College President Susan Witter is also an enthusiastic proponent of PLA. She was the first chair of the PLA provincial steering committee before she became Douglas College’s President. “PLA (flexible assessment) has really come of age in BC,” says Witter. “More and more students expect the College to offer these services for mature students. Douglas College has been an ‘early adopter’ in the development of flexible assessment... my hopes are that we will continue to stay on the leading edge.” According to Diana Christie, the Assessment Service Coordinator, there are many who can take advantage of the benefits of PLA. “The person ‘who goes to workshop after workshop, who takes Continuing Education courses, who reads voraciously, or who works in their family’s business is a candidate,” says Christie. “This is a real opportunity to recognize that people learn outside formal classrooms.” The Assessment Service also works cooperatively with the Open Learning Agency’s International Credentialing Service to assist foreign students. “We're working closely with faculty,” says McKendry. “And the expansion of the service has the support of funding from the College-wide Strategic Development Fund to expand this service.” Despite the enthusiasm for PLA on campus, the move to increase the use of flexible assessment raises many issues and some potential complications. For example, the 50% residency requirement (stating that at least 50% of courses must be taken at the institution from which the student graduates) could act as a barrier. As well, some policies need to be reviewed for their relevance to today’s learners. McKendrty is not particularly worried about the potential problems, and believes continued dialogue with the Faculties will help. “All across the world we are seeing increased flexibility in assessment strategies to increase access for learners. This is part of both our provincial and College strategic plan and it will be the responsibility of the whole College to make it work." Quote of the Month “Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten.” — B. F. Skinner.