Assessing the Success of Institutional Supports for College Students in Calculus I Gateway Courses

• In Event: Institutional Analysis and Data-Informed Decision Making

Abstract

This paper examines university supports for students in Calculus 1. High failure and dropout rates hold back students, especially underrepresented minority students (URMs), in pursuing STEM fields. In this paper, we present results from a sequential explanatory mixed methods study of student success in Calculus 1 at a large midwestern institution. We found that students who fail or drop out of calculus more often find supports too late to improve their outcomes. Moreover, URM students learn of supports through informal sources, like peers. Underlying this disconnect is an inability of students to assess when they need help and the failure of the university to identify struggling students early enough. The implications for universities are that supports may not be effective.

Authors

• Andrew G. Benson, Smarter Schools
  Presenting Author

• Amy N. Farley, University of Cincinnati
  Presenting Author

• Christopher M. Swoboda, University of Cincinnati
  Presenting Author

• Susan Elisabeth Faller, University of Cincinnati
  Non-Presenting Author