Nevada’s Gateway Course Success Initiative Crystal Abba, Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs Theo Meek, Research Scholar

Today’s Presentation Part 1: Gateway Course Success Policy Development Implementation/Action Plans Setting Enrollment Benchmarks Evaluating Year 1 Outcomes Part 2: Corequisite Mandate Traditional Remediation Policy Paper

Part 1: The Gateway Policy

Policy Development: How it All Started Driven by Data Completion of gateway mathematics courses and student success Are students on track to meet gateway requirements Impact of remediation on completing the gateway mathematics within one year of enrollment 2014 NSHE Gateway Mathematics Summit Faculty Task Force developed policy recommendation Clear objective based on data – increase the number of students that complete the gateway mathematics course within the first year of enrollment Charles A. Dana Center/Complete College America Support and guidance Action plan review Sounding board

The Driving Factor: Data % Completed Gateway Math in first 2 years 150% Graduation Rate 4-year Institutions UNLV 59.5% 48.8% UNR 79.2% 52.0% NSC 37.0% 25.0% 2-year Institutions CSN 16.9% 23.2% GBC 17.5% 26.8% TMCC 18.8% 31.8% WNC 35.1% 30.9% % not Completed Gateway Math in first 2 years 150% Graduation rate 40.5% 22.6% 20.8% 12.7% 63.0% 3.9% 83.1% 82.5% 1.8% 81.2% 1.5% 64.9% 0.3% Timely completion of gateway mathematics courses correlates with students persistence and degree completion

Too many students do not enroll in any math course in their first year Magnitude of the Problem Percent of first-time, degree-seeking students that did not enroll in math in the first year of enrollment 4-year Institutions UNLV 18.9% UNR 4.6% NSC 32.6% 2-year Institutions CSN 67.7% GBC 38.7% TMCC 31.2% WNC 30.1% Too many students do not enroll in any math course in their first year

The Policy (Adopted June 2015) Degree-seeking students that place below college level, but are at least high school ready, must be placed on a pathway for gateway course completion (English and mathematics) within the first year of enrollment Exception for students in a STEM program– three-semester sequence permissible All degree-seeking students must be continuously enrolled in the appropriate mathematics and English courses until the institutional core curriculum mathematics and English requirements are completed

Setting Enrollment Benchmarks Estimate Cohort Size (denominator) Estimate the Number of Students Enrolled (numerator) Percent and Number of First-Time, Degree-Seeking Students Enrolled in Math in First Year (Fall, Spring and Summer) Historical Benchmarks 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2016-17 Cohort* # Students % Students Estimated Cohort* # Course Sections UNLV 2,688 2,180 81.1% 3,121 2,659 85.2% 3,484 3,073 88.2%   UNR 2,425 2,314 95.4% 2,596 2,478 95.5% 3,029 2,708 89.4% NSC 132 89 67.4% 215 164 76.3% 262 190 72.5% CSN 4,354 1,407 32.3% 4,964 1,539 31.0% 4,954 1,713 34.6% GBC 230 141 61.3% 199 135 67.8% 191 124 64.9% TMCC 1,231 847 68.8% 1,202 769 64.0% 1,125 715 63.6% WNC 598 418 69.9% 615 423 665 484 72.8%** Historical Data Considerations Understanding the Cohort (first-time, degree-seeking students)

Benchmarks – 4 Year Institutions Setting Enrollment Benchmarks Benchmarks – 4 Year Institutions Historical Benchmark

Benchmarks – 2 Year Institutions Setting Enrollment Benchmarks Benchmarks – 2 Year Institutions Historical Benchmark

Institutional Approaches Believed in the data and changed culture Claimed to believe in the data but did not change culture Complacent participants

Student Success versus Data Outcomes Game Playing – Increasing the Numerator Non-traditional gateway courses Embedded curriculum Certificates with no math requirement (ex., CNA) Dual enrolled students excluded (with the exception of Jump Start) Losing Control: Student Success versus Data Outcomes

Setting Enrollment Benchmarks Benchmark vs. Actual for Year One UNLV Cohort: 3,200 103 students OVER benchmark CSN Cohort: 4,225 92 students OVER benchmark TMCC Cohort: 1,259 63 students SHORT of benchmark

College Level Completions By First Term Enrollment Levels Credit Load Matters!

Part 2: Corequisite Mandate

The Policy Paper National look at trends of remediation System-wide review of traditional remediation challenges Too many students start in remediation Too few successfully complete their remediation sequences Too few complete gateway courses Too few graduate Successful corequisite scaling in Tennessee Corequisite models within NSHE

A Nationwide Concern Brought Home Nationally… Placement rates are high 68% of community college students 40% of public, four-year students Too many ethnic minorities are enrolled 56% of Black students enroll in remediation 45% of Hispanic students enroll into remediation Degree completion rates are low Less than 10% of students who place into remediation will graduate Within NSHE… Placement rates are comparable 67% of community college students 27% of state & university students Too many ethnic minorities are enrolled 56% of Black students enroll in remediation 45% of Hispanic students enroll into remediation Degree completion rates are lower 8% of students who place into remediation will graduate Source: National Center for Education Statistics (2016) Source: NSHE Student Data Warehouse, Fall 2015 and 2016 Gateway Cohort

Source: NSHE Student Data Warehouse, Fall 2016 Gateway Cohort Mass Placement into Remediation Source: NSHE Student Data Warehouse, Fall 2016 Gateway Cohort

First Math Enrollment Source: NSHE Student Data Warehouse, Fall 2016 Gateway Cohort

Remediation Hinders Degree Completion 2014 Cohort 2015 Cohort Enrolled Degree Completion # % CSN Less than MATH 95 356 45 12.6% 340 43 MATH 95-98 646 92 14.2% 528 95 18.0% College-Level 775 156 20.1% 944 170 No Math First Year 2,415 32 1.3% 1,928 51 2.6%   GBC 80 14 17.5% 90 13 14.4% 48 29.2% 50 15 30.0% 41 25 61.0% 42 59.5% 55 0.0% 56 2 3.6% TMCC 245 10.2% 262 37 14.1% 381 93 24.4% 380 66 17.4% 193 73 37.8% 99 398 5 477 7 1.5% WNC 3 21.4% 21 8 38.1% 303 16.5% 308 57 18.5% 236 82 34.7% 330 131 39.7% 140 1 0.7% 106 2.8% Source: NSHE Student Data Warehouse, Fall 2014-15 Gateway Cohorts

Source: NSHE Student Data Warehouse, Fall 2016 Gateway Cohort Overrepresentation of Minority Populations National Data NSHE Data Source: Complete College America, “Corequisite Remediation: Spanning the Completion Divide” Source: NSHE Student Data Warehouse, Fall 2016 Gateway Cohort

Underprepared or Under Placed? Source: Tennessee Board of Regents, Denley 2016

NSHE Math Pathways are Long and Complex Institutions requiring high stakes placement exams have no guarantee of progression.

Accelerated Learning Program Structured Assistance The Case for Corequisite Remediation Accelerated Learning Program Gateway Course Paired Remedial Course Structured Assistance Required 0 Credit Lab 101+ Model One Additional Credit Corequisite Remediation at UNR MATH 126E: Pre-Calculus Expanded (5 credits) MATH 96D (2 credits) + MATH 126E (3 credits) MATH 120E: College Mathematics Expanded (4 credits) MATH 96A (1 credits) + MATH 120E (3 credits)

Conclusion Traditional remediation is not working Too many start in remediation and are unsuccessful in completing their gateway course Psychological challenges and long pathways to gateway course completion Closing the achievement gap starts with reinventing remediation Corequisite remediation results in much higher student success outcomes Placing students in a college-level course where academic support is provided just-in-time as students need it better facilitates long term student success Success at UNR and NSC as well as nationwide support corequisite remediation Regardless of academic preparation, success levels are higher for students in corequisite remediation Even students at the lowest level of academic preparedness perform better in corequisite models

The Proposed Policy: Gateway 2.0 Mandate corequisite remediation Effectively eliminating traditional remedial pathways Eliminate mandatory placement tests when used during course progression Upper limit of corequisite remediation: 6 credits TOTAL Maintain continuous enrollment Reporting requirement to Board of Regents

Questions? Crystal Abba Theo Meek Vice Chancellor Nevada System of Higher Education cabba@nshe.nevada.edu Theo Meek Research Scholar Nevada System of Higher Education tmeek@nshe.nevada.edu