In a presentation that was competitively selected to be shared at the conference, four UOG English faculty shared how UOG successfully eliminated developmental English classes at UOG and instead improved academic support, stakeholder engagement, and curriculum design to bring incoming students' English proficiency to college-level.

"The actions and the steps we took to eliminate developmental English were in response to WASC recommendations and the senior vice president and provost's initiatives to improve time to degree completion and overall student success," said Sharleen Santos-Bamba, one of the presenters in her capacity as associate professor in the English program.

WASC Senior College & University Commission is the organization under which the University of Guam is accredited.

Senior Vice President and Provost Anita Borja Enriquez added, "This was pioneering work at the University—intentional efforts to improve student success, including retention and degree graduation rates, as aligned with our Student Success Innovation Team efforts."

The initiative correlates with a significant improvement in UOG students' six-year completion rate—from 27% in 2015 to 41% in 2021.

The presenters at the conference were Associate Professors of English Sharleen Santos-Bamba and Chris Garcia-Santos and Instructors of English Carol Simpson-Warner and Teresita Perez. Their panel was moderated by James Sellmann, dean of the UOG College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences.