Three A’s to Inclusive Access: Tarrant County College’s Case Story

Abstract

Inclusive access provides a digital textbook option for students that is higher quality/lower cost and accessible to students on the first day of class with a print option. Tarrant County College (TCC) inclusive access initiative (branded “TCC Plus”) provides an additional option for faculty to adopt course materials which will increase access, affordability, and achievement. Dr. Mark McClendon, vice-chancellor of finance, and Dr. Tyson McMillan, professor of computer science and former president of the Joint Consultation Committee, cochaired a cross-functional task force to plan and implement this initiative. The scope of the project included three precepts: (1) student focused, (2) faculty driven, and (3) administratively supported. In this case study, we provide process, procedures, and data points that resulted from Spring 2018 to Fall 2019 semesters at TCC. This work will focus on the decision-making process, how our strategic thinking evolved, the critical elements of the program, and future steps. Additionally, this case study explores to what extent the TCC Plus program increases access, affordability, and achievement for students, while continuing with the college mission of improving student persistence and graduation rates.

Appendices

Appendices

Appendix A

TCC plus − Initial cross functional team
Area	Individual	Team responsibility	Job function -TCC
Leadership	Dr. Mark McClendon	Co-chair	CFO − Vice Chancellor Finance
	Dr. Tyson McMillan	Co-chair	JCC Chair Emeritus, Professor
Finance/Auxiliary Services	Mike Herndon	Purchasing /Team	Purchasing Manager
	Ray Allison	Administrative	Auxiliary Contract Specialist
	Lisa Waller	Coordination	Analyst – Administration Support
Campus Presidents Representative	Dr. Bill Coppola	Connection to Presidents	South East Campus President
Financial Aid	Samantha Stalnaker	Financial Aid Representative	Assistant Director Financial Aid
Dean Representative	Linda Wright	Academic Deans	NE Campus
	Dr. Solomon Cross,		TCC Connect
Business Services	Sherry Heffner	Business Services	Manager District Services
JCC/Faculty Representative	Dr. Tyson McMillan	JK/Faculty Representative	Professor
	Mr. Steve Smiley		Instructor, JCC Chair -Elect
	Dr. Shereah Taylor		Professor
Academic Affairs	Dr. Nancy Curé	Academic Affairs	Assoc Vice Chancellor
			Academic Affairs
Diversity	Andrew Duffield	Diversity	Chief Diversity Officer
IT/LMS	Vicki Hutto	IT/LMS Representative	Director of Application Development
Institutional Intelligence & Research	Dr. Rosemary Reynolds	Institutional Intelligence & Research	Dir. of Institutional Research
	Dr. Holly Stovall		Director of Research
CIE Representative	Dr. Robert Munoz	CIE Representative	Vice President of Community & Industry Education TR Campus
Corporate Solutions	Jennifer Hawkins	Corporate Solutions	Dir. Corporate Services
Student Advising	Sharon Moore	Student Advising	Assistant Director of Student Learning Materials
Communications	Mr. Reginald Gates	Communications	Vice Chancellor Communications & External Affairs

Appendix B

Faculty − Early adopters
No.	First name	Last name	Campus	Teaching area
1	Penny	Cypert	NE	Information Technology/Computer Science
2	Charles	Desassure	SE	Information Technology/Computer Science
3	Regina	Cannon	SE	Business
4	Randy	Jackson	CN	Business Administration − Management
5	Tim	Park	CN	Business
6	Shelli	Hull	SO	Chemistry
7	Mark	Eley	TR	Chemistry
8	Steve	Smiley	NW	Information Technology/Computer Science
9	Tyson	McMillan	TR	Information Technology/Computer Science
10	Nosratallah	Nezafati	SE	Information Technology/Computer Science
11	Shereah	Taylor	SO	Education
12	Kirk	Adams	SE	English
13	Stacy	Stuewe	NE	English
14	Kathy	Quesenbury	SE	English
15	Leigh-Anne	Regenold	NE	Government
16	Jennifer	Heth	SO	History
17	Lee (Noble)	Snaples	SO	History
18	Shahla	Durany	SO	Information Technology/Computer Science
19	Priti	Patel	SE	Mathematics
20	Greg	Dewhirst	SE	Music
21	Des	Robinson	SE	Psychology
22	Stephen	Brown	SE	Speech
23	Cristina	Sullivan	CN	Speech

Appendix C

District administration approval process
No.	Description
1.	ACTs select Textbook options
2.	Purchasing get pricing and ISBNs from publishers
3.	Bookstore manage textbook listings and E-book details with publishers
4.	Faculty Opt-in to select desired TCC Plus text from list of CLMs
5.	Campuses (VPAAs/Deans/Chairs) look at opt-in list and build sections
6.	Business Services attach fee information
7.	Section builders attached notes and custom price details and click TCC Plus designation checkbox.
8.	Students register for TCC Plus classes as part of the wider system.