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 had been relatively stable, but increased to 92.7% in fall 2016 and subsequently decreased to 82.4% in fall 2017. The current success rate remains higher than earlier rates and well above the improvement target of 73.0-74.0%.

A larger percentage of students have entered Harper college-ready in math in recent years, leading to a smaller number of students enrolling in developmental math and then enrolling in gateway math. In fall 2013, 218 students were included in this group, while in fall 2017 only 142 students were included in this group. 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 decreased to 64.5% for fall 2017 students, and is well below the improvement target of 77.0-78.0%.

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 (107 students in fall 2017). 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 decreased in fall 2018, but remains above the success rates of earlier years and is just below the improvement target of 68.0-69.0%. The fall 2018 decrease is similar to the decrease seen across all college-level courses.

In early 2018, the success rates in large enrollment courses were analyzed to determine if new courses need 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 has been set for the “original” 0-15 courses, however the “updated” 0-15 courses will be included from 2018 forward.