The flex program is an opportunity for students to repeat content that they have not yet mastered.
At Lambda School, we want students to feel confident in their skills and abilities every step of the way. That means mastering each set of objectives before moving on to the next.
Flex allows students to repeat content when they need to, taking the time to build a solid foundation and master the skills they need to move forward. Flex puts students in the driver's seat of their learning - allowing a student to say, “I’ve got this, I am ready to move on” or “I haven’t yet mastered this content and I would like to repeat the unit.” It is one thing to put in the reps to understand the concepts - it is another to be able to truly demonstrate that you have mastered the objectives to the point of being ready for the job search.
When we see that a student may need additional help with the content, we’ll proactively reach out to support the student. We have resources in place that can help students on their learning journey, including support hours and academic success planning. In addition, students can always reach out to us directly for support via Front Desk or reach out to the Learner Success Advisor.
Based on the number of Sprints a student does not successfully complete, a student will fall into one of two categories:
Flex optional is reserved for students who choose to opt into flex, but have otherwise passed the unit requirements. This option is for students who have demonstrated mastery over the objectives, however, they would like to repeat the unit to gain further mastery before moving on to the next unit. We don’t want you to just go through the motions and move forward - we want you ready to land the job when it comes time. Sometimes that means repeating content to fully master the objectives.
Please read the remaining information below to understand how and when a student will know what category they may fall into in any given unit.
At Lambda School, we look at a comprehensive picture of each Sprint to determine how a student is doing. This includes, but is not limited to: Checks for Understanding, Pulse Checks, Sprint Assessments, and Sprint Retros. For units such as Unit 4, Computer Science, and Labs - this may also include interviews, code challenge assessments, and the CodeSignal General Code Assessment (GCA). These interview and assessment markers are one way that we determine whether or not a student has mastered the necessary skills and is job ready.
Please note that a successful sprint completion is not based on the sprint assessment or retro alone - it is based on mastery of the sprint’s objectives, as demonstrated through each assessment throughout the sprint.
When we identify that a student may be struggling with the content, we will get the student connected with an instructor to talk about the areas the student may need additional support. During these conversations, students and instructors will determine support needs and options, as well as determine if the student needs to repeat the unit or if they are able to move forward.
Students will receive specific unit level requirements regarding what it means to successfully complete a sprint and the unit.