A Faculty-Centered Approach to Successfully Implementing Adaptive Courseware: A Case Study of Cuyahoga Community College

Faculty at Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland, Ohio, led efforts to implement and then scale adaptive courseware for gateway courses in more than a half-dozen disciplines. The institution supported faculty efforts by creating a collaborative learning community and providing other supporting resources, and faculty continue to take the lead in scaling adaptive courseware within their disciplines. Adaptive courseware was part of intentional efforts to leverage technology to support institutional equity initiatives. Administrative supports included release time and service credits focused on learning communities, support from instructional designers, technologists, and staff from two college offices; a staff-developed guide listing adaptive courseware products by discipline; and a dedicated Blackboard site for collaboration. The following case study is part of a series of studies conducted by Achieving the Dream (ATD) examining how adaptive courseware is implemented at those institutions as well as how courseware is used in particular disciplines to better serve students. Case studies are based on a series of interviews with college leaders, faculty, instructional designers, developers, technology specialists and students who were enrolled in classes using the courseware.