Introductory-level courses in STEM majors too frequently act as barriers rather than gateways for students. Remedial or developmental coursework, intended to prepare underprepared students for college-level courses, often hinders rather than helps students. Unlike English and mathematics, developmental coursework is less common in science disciplines, but when offered it can delay students’ progression and discourage them from continuing in a program. Gateway science courses also have high rates of student failure, disproportionately affecting African American, Native American, and Hispanic/Latino students. A corequisite model, where students enroll directly in college-level courses and receive additional academic support, has shown promise in increasing student success and disproportionately benefits low-income and minority students. The Ohio Strong Start in Science project (OhioSSS) will provide colleges and their science faculty support to review placement procedures, redesign curriculum, and institute academic supports in introductory chemistry, biology and human anatomy and physiology courses. OhioSSS is intended to help keep students on the path to graduation with a degree in a STEM or healthcare field.
The Ohio Department of Higher Education is leading this project. CCRC is serving as a research and evaluation partner, providing both formative and summative research support.
Funding for this project is provided by Ascendium Education Group.
