On the surface, creating a corequisite course may look easy. This type of course, in a nutshell, enrolls students in remedial and college-level classes in the same subject at the same time. Students receive targeted support to help increase success in the college-level course.

However, finding out how to build this structure successfully can be difficult. After all, there’s a lot that goes into designing a course! Here are some helpful questions you can ask to make sure you’re making decisions that will be most beneficial to your students. Keep those questions flowing! The more you question, the better prepared you’ll be for this transition.

Placement

• How are students placed into the course?
• Will placement into a specific corequisite course be based on majors?
• What will happen if students change their majors? Will their pathway course change?
• Will corequisites be offered for STEM courses?
• Will your institution continue to offer remedial, non-corequisite math for students who need more instruction before they are ready to enter a corequisite course?
• Will your credit-level class include a mixture of both credit-level-ready students and corequisite students?

Structure

• Will corequisite courses meet on an additional day of the week or be added on to existing class meeting blocks?
• Will students enroll in a credit-bearing course and a separate corequisite section, or enhanced linked courses?
• Will there be a lab component or required time spent in tutoring centers?
• Will you schedule just-in-time remediation in anticipation of upcoming credit-level topics, or will remediation be self-paced?
• Will attendance be required for corequisite meetings, or will students maintaining a high grade be exempt?
• Will the same instructor teach both the credit-level and corequisite portions of a course?
• How many credit hours are the review/credit-bearing portions?
• Can a student pass the corequisite and fail the credit-bearing portion or vice versa?

Reporting

• Will you perform diagnostic assessments to identify individual knowledge gaps for each student?
• Will all students cover a standard curriculum in the corequisite course, or will the curriculum be fluid and evolve based on any knowledge gaps you identify?
• What kind of reports would be most helpful to you if you need to share data on the success of the corequisite model with your chair or with administration?
• What kind of information would help you most effectively identify at-risk students?
• What criteria are used to consider success or failure of the new course model?

Course Materials

• Does every student need only one set of materials (regardless of whether they are in both the credit-level and review course or exclusively in the credit-level)?
• What type of materials work best in your corequisite course structure (technology, supplemental assignments, etc.)?
• How will you ensure mastery of the prerequisite skills?
• Will you address learning strategies or study skills that focus on developing the academic mindset of your students in corequisite meetings?
• Do you plan to cover additional review of credit content in the corequisite meeting, or focus solely on prerequisite skills?

Support

• Will you be given a dedicated support specialist to provide on-demand consulting as you implement changes?
• What kind of training will you be offered? Will it be free and unlimited and walk you through customizing the courseware that you choose to fit your individual course needs?
• Will you be connected with other users who have undergone similar redesigns for additional suggestions and best practices?
• Will your students have equal access to technical support for their questions as they are getting started?
• What kind of response time will you get from the company you partner with for new materials when you have questions?

Learn more about structuring corequisite courses by watching the free, on-demand webinar, “Core Principles of Implementing a Corequisite Model,” by Dr. Holly Ayers, Arkansas State University – Newport.