Earning a non-passing grade negatively impacts a student’s academic trajectory and increases the risk of attrition—negatively impacting the CSU’s ability to close equity gaps. What happens in classrooms when the doors close plays a significant role in whether students feel a sense of belonging, whether they gain or lose academic confidence or if they ultimately earn a degree. Equally important are the significant variations in academic preparation among students arriving to CSU campuses. Without compromising academic rigor, an intensified systemwide strategy must be deployed to explore the root causes of persistent high failure rates among URM students. Working closely with faculty, such areas as how to more effectively provide learning support for students and re-evaluating course design and pedagogical practices will need to be addressed. Students of color and first-generation students often arrive with fewer AP or dual enrollment opportunities while in high school and are more likely to earn low and non-passing grades in first-year foundational courses leading towards their major.
CSUCI is focused on the following:
- Publish (internally) an active list of high-enrollment, high-Drop, Fail, Withdraw (DFW) courses with the largest equity gaps to establish benchmarks and to engage presidents, provosts, deans and faculty senate and department leaders.
- Establish improvement rates by course for each campus.
- Track and publish progress over the next three terms the courses are offered.