The value of leveraging curricular analytics to drive positive change within educational institutions.
After an inspiring encounter with the Gardner Institute’s Curricular Analytics Community, Chaffey College has launched a new pathway for STEM achievement in their Math and Science Department. Chaffey College aimed to formulate a strategy that would comply with state laws, align with college-guided pathways and improve student outcomes. This involved leveraging curricular analytics to identify redundancies, pinpoint barriers, and highlight areas for improvement within the math curriculum, specifically with students who were required to take precalculus.
Curricular analytics eliminates unnecessary courses below the collegiate or transfer level, thereby streamlining the pathway for students aiming to complete their degree plans most efficiently. Chaffey College recognized the need for reform in its math and remedial math sequencing to better align with state laws and support student success within the framework of new college-guided pathways. Below are the phases and next steps that Chaffey College planned to implement after participating in the Curricular Analytics Community.
Phase One: Collaboration with the Curricular Analytics Community
The college ultimately partnered with the curricular analytics community to transform data-driven insights into student performance, course efficacy, and curriculum design.
Phase Two: Integration with Academic Career Communities
Chaffey College integrated its reform efforts with Academic Career Communities to ensure the revised math curriculum aligned with broader educational pathways and career goals.
Phase Three: Revision of Math Sequencing
The college identified and eliminated unnecessary courses below the collegiate or transfer level, focusing on streamlining the pathway for students. Redundant cluster programs were modified to remove barriers and reduce course prerequisites.
Phase Four: Creation of Supportive Structures
Chaffey College developed a support class that combined elements of previously separate prerequisite courses into one condensed offering. This support class aimed to equip students with the necessary skills and knowledge for success in higher-level courses like precalculus.
Looking to the Future: Next Steps
Chaffey’s Academic & Career Community mirrors identical goals from the Curriculum Analytics Community. By combining predetermined and redesigned outcomes the college will remove the partition between the courses required for students to be able to freely graduate and transfer at the college.
"My advice to everyone is to find that core group to work with and become each other's champions! Begin the work, and then figure out how to sell it back to the rest of the organization. Get leaders and collegues involved, show them what is possible."
Mike Wangler
Dean of Math and Sciences at Chaffey College
