Constructing Corequisites: How Community Colleges Structure Corequisite Math Coursework and the Implications for...

Area of Science:

• Educational Policy
• Higher Education Pedagogy
• Community College Research

Background:

• Traditional developmental education sequences show dismal completion rates.
• Corequisite coursework models are rapidly expanding in higher education.
• Community colleges face challenges implementing new academic programs with limited data.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze how Texas community colleges structured corequisite courses following a statewide mandate.
• To identify corequisite coursework characteristics that predict student outcomes.
• To evaluate the impact of corequisite reforms on student success in college-level math.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of administrative data from Texas community colleges.
• Examination of statewide corequisite course mandates.
• Statistical modeling to predict student outcomes based on course design.

Main Results:

• Colleges structured corequisite courses in various ways in response to the mandate.
• Specific elements like mixed-ability classes, higher credits for support courses, and same-instructor models improved college-level math pass rates.
• These design elements did not predict long-term outcomes such as college persistence.

Conclusions:

• Corequisite reforms show promise for improving immediate course completion in mathematics.
• Certain structural elements of corequisite courses are associated with higher pass rates.
• Further research is needed to understand how to foster long-term student persistence within corequisite models.