Student Success - Success of Developmental Students in Gateway Courses

Success of Developmental Students in Gateway Math measures students who successfully completed developmental math in the given fall semester and subsequently successfully completed college-level math before the end of the following fall semester. Harper’s success rate has been above the improvement target of 73.0-74.0% since fall of 2016, and while this percentage has fluctuated, in fall 2020, the success rate reached a high of 98.4%, surpassing the 2020 target.

A large percentage of students enter Harper college-ready in math, which leads to smaller numbers of students enrolling in developmental math and then enrolling in gateway math (124 students in fall 2019). Smaller numbers of students contribute to increased variability in results from year to year.

Success of Developmental Students in Gateway English measures students who successfully completed developmental writing in the given fall semester and subsequently successfully completed a college-level English course before the end of the following fall semester. Harper’s success rate has varied over the last several years and in fall 2019 the success rate was 71.0%. This percentage is below the improvement target of 77.0-78.0%, therefore the target was not achieved. Students who successfully completed developmental English in fall 2019, enrolled in gateway English in spring, summer, or fall 2020. These semesters were impacted by COVID-19 and the transition to online courses may have impacted success rates.

A relatively small number of students enroll in developmental writing each year, leading to a smaller number of students enrolling in developmental writing and then enrolling in gateway English (138 students in fall 2019). Smaller numbers of students contribute to increased variability in results from year to year.

Success in 0-15 Courses measures success rates (C or higher) of students enrolled in the identified high enrollment and lower than average success rate courses, known as the 0-15 courses, during the given fall semester. Success in these courses has remained relatively stable and in fall 2020, the success rate for the original set of 0-15 courses was 69.5%, achieving the improvement target of 68.0-69.0%.

In early 2018, the success rates in large enrollment courses were analyzed to determine if new courses needed focused attention. As a result, an updated 0-15 course list was created, allowing Harper to focus on the current high-enrollment, lower than average success courses. The 2020 target had been set for the “original” 0-15 courses, however the “updated” 0-15 courses were included from 2018 forward.