Arkansas

Arkansas

Haw Creek Falls, Arkansas

2019 – Dana Center Expands Work in Arkansas to Scale Co-Requisite Support

Both the Dana Center and Complete College America are collaborators in Arkansas’s Strong Start to Finish (SStF) initiative to implement high quality, rigorous co-requisite courses in mathematics and English at scale.

Funded by the Kresge Foundation and a matching awarded from Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, and managed by the Arkansas Department of Higher Education and Arkansas Community Colleges, the goal is to enroll at least 75% of underprepared students in co-requisite support by Fall 2021 so that more students successfully pass mathematics and English in their first year. The Dana Center and Complete College America are working with 32 Arkansas public higher education institutions – 22 community colleges and 10 universities. Arkansas’ SStF initiative plans to reach approximately 50,000 students per year by 2020.

Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson introduces Strong Start to Finish
 

Technical assistance support is provided by two regional coordinators – Dr. Charles Watson and Dr. Shelton Fitzpatrick; their contact information is noted below and their serving-institutions are found within their coordinator biography.

For more information about the Dana Center’s role in scaling co-requisite supports in Arkansas, please read this story. Visit the Arkansas Strong Start to Finish dashboard for announcements, events, and resources.

North-Central Arkansas Regional Coordinator

Charles Watson portrait.

Charles Watson, Ed.D.

chaswatson@sbcglobal.net

Biography

South-Central Arkansas Regional Coordinator

Shelton Fitzpatrick portrait.

Shelton Fitzpatrick, Ph.D.

fitzpatrick321@sbcglobal.net

Biography

 

Early Dana Center Work with Arkansas

In late-2015, Arkansas was selected as one of six states to participate in the Mathematics Pathways to Completion (MPC) project. Through this project, Arkansas sought to move from a broad vision for mathematics pathways to institutional implementation of the Dana Center Mathematics Pathways (DCMP) model over three years. In Fall 2017, 20 two-year institutions and 11 four-year institutions committed to implement mathematics pathways in Fall 2018. See Summary of Institutional Commitments for Arkansas for more information about who committed and institutional expectations to implement mathematics pathways.

In Spring 2018, the Arkansas Department of Higher Education and the Arkansas Course Transfer System (ACTS) Mathematics Review Committee reached a major milestone with the publication of the Quantitative Literacy/Mathematical Reasoning (ACTS Course MATH1113) recommendations. These recommendations are guiding Arkansas institutions as they determine which degrees and programs should accept Quantitative Literacy/Mathematical Reasoning as the general education mathematics requirement. See A Statewide Effort in Arkansas to Align Mathematics Pathways to Non-STEM Programs of Study for more information.

For more details on the work in Arkansas, see this Math Pathways Task Force site.

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Listen as Co-Chairs Drs. Charles Watson and Linus Yu, of the Arkansas Math Pathways Task Force, present outcomes of the work with the MPC project.

Lead Agency

  • Arkansas Department of Higher Education (ADHE) in collaboration with Arkansas Center for Student Success

Math Task Force Facilitators

  • Mike Leach, Director of Center for Student Success, Arkansas Community Colleges (ACC)
  • Jessie Walker, Senior Associate Director Academic Affairs/Research & Analysis, Arkansas Dept. of Higher Education

AY 2019-20 Math Task Force Co-Chairs

  • Valerie Martin, Department Chair of Math, Science and Agriculture, North Arkansas College
  • Charles Watson, Associate Professor, University of Central Arkansas
  • Linus Yu, Associate Professor and Department Head of Mathematics, University of Arkansas - Fort Smith
  • Deborah Korth, Director of Fulbright Student Success, Clinical Associate Professor, University of Arkansas – Fayetteville
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Mike Leach
Pathways to Success
"Of all the student success innovations we have pursued here in Arkansas, DCMP has the greatest potential to have a systemic impact. We know that math presents one of the biggest barriers to student completion. The DCMP will improve the math experience for students, making it more relevant and tailored to what each student needs for continued education and career success. The entire higher education system will be touched by this effort, at the institution and state policy levels. DCMP is a critical component in the on-going effort to transform Arkansas’ higher education system to better serve students.”
Mike Leach
Director of the Center for Student Success at
Arkansas Community Colleges
Featured Resources

Climbing the Summit: Progress & Challenges in Scaling Strong Start to Finish Arkansas

This report outlines the progress toward SStF Arkansas Initiative goals from 2018-2020. It also presents the persistent scaling challenges that Arkansas higher education stakeholders face, as they work to increase equitable access and outcomes in undergraduate English and mathematics.

Level
State
Institution
Process Stage
Implementing
Continuously Improving
Role
Institutional Leadership
Math Department
Partner Disciplines
Advisors and Coordinators

A Statewide Effort in Arkansas to Align Mathematics Pathways to Non-STEM Programs of Study

Broad collaboration across multiple stakeholders and clear guidance from faculty and policymakers produced clearly defined pathways for students to enroll in mathematics courses that will both transfer and apply to their chosen fields of study.

Level
State
Process Stage
Implementing
Role
Policy
Institutional Leadership
Math Department
Advisors and Coordinators
Notes from the field_number 6_FINAL-092018.pdf

Scaling Co–Requisite Supports at the University of Central Arkansas: Perspective from a Four–Year Higher Education Institution

A fully scaled corequisite support model that uses common course textbooks and exams helps underprepared students complete their gateway mathematics courses in their first year, removing a persistent barrier to degree completion.

Level
Institution
Classroom
Process Stage
Planning
Implementing
Role
Institutional Leadership
Math Department
Partner Disciplines
1_Notes from the field_number 4_FINAL[1].pdf

Our Work at the State Level

Select a state to learn more about how local leaders are setting a vision for math pathways or read an analysis of math pathways work across multiple states.