Statewide college readiness symposia to begin in Austin

The Texas State University System is set to host the first of four, one-day College Readiness Initiative Faculty Collaborative Symposia.

The symposium will begin Friday, Nov. 21 from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Double Tree Hotel, 6505 IH-35 North in Austin and will focus on mathematics. Subsequent events will focus on English, Jan. 23, 2009, hosted by the University of Texas; science, Feb. 28, 2009, hosted by Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi; and social studies, April 3, 2009, hosted by the University of Texas at Arlington. These events are sponsored by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

Sponsored by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, the symposia are scheduled for fall and early spring to support the Texas College Readiness Standards which aim to get first year students to complete their first year of college without the need for remedial or developmental education. All public and private universities in Texas are invited to send a team of up to four people to each of the symposia.  Faculty from more than 40 Texas universities are scheduled to attend the November conference.

The College Readiness Initiative Faculty Collaborative (CRIFC) Project is a P-16 initiative that seeks to engage faculty members from Texas universities that offer teacher education programs. The collaborative supports efforts to improve the college and workforce readiness of Texas students through the improved preparation of teacher candidates.

The overall goals of the symposia are to provide university faculty with the latest information regarding implementation of the College Readiness Standards; to provide opportunities for faculty to seek clarification regarding implementation issues; and to facilitate the development of an action plan to support implementation of the College Readiness Standards at each campus.

The Texas State University System Education Policy Implementation Center (EPIC) works closely with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to coordinate the efforts of the four institutions hosting the College Readiness symposia. EPIC is a research and development partnership of the Texas State University System, the Texas Education Agency, and a variety of the other educational and funding entities committed to improving education.