California

California

California

The growing momentum to reform how students enter college-level mathematics courses, the types of supports they receive, and the content of those courses has prompted the higher education community in California to make significant commitments to implement mathematics pathways. In 2017, the Charles A. Dana Center began supporting those commitments to improve equity, student success and completion through two collaborations with the California State University (CSU) system and the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium (CVHEC).

Several significant policy changes in 2017 created momentum for both universities and community colleges to implement mathematics pathways.

  • CSU system Chancellor Timothy White issued an executive order changing requirements for student preparation and placement in first–year quantitative reasoning courses. The order also revised a previous executive order by broadening the definition of quantitative reasoning courses.
     
  • Chancellor Eloy Oakley of the California Community Colleges system launched an initiative to implement Guided Pathways, releasing a memo in Spring 2017 instructing institutions to work on multiple measures placement and remedial education reform. 
     
  • The California legislature passed Assembly Bill 705 requiring community colleges to use multiple measures for placement and to place students into transfer–level English and mathematics coursework unless there is evidence that the students would be more successful in a remedial course sequence.

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California State University

Lead Agency

  • California State University (CSU)

To support the implementation of Executive Order 1100, the Office of the Chancellor at the California State University (CSU) selected the Dana Center to provide technical assistance to faculty and administrators on the implementation of co–requisite mathematics courses. The Dana Center conducted a system–wide professional learning series during which teams from all twenty–three CSU campuses participated in webinars and two two–day workshops.

Over 200 faculty members and administrators learned about strategies and effective practices necessary to implement high–quality co–requisite courses. The Dana Center’s leaders, implementation specialists, and curriculum development experts helped participants understand the national trends in co–requisite supports, engaged in data discussions and structured facilitated discussions, and created action plans for co–requisite mathematics programs customized to their individual institutional needs and contexts. The Dana Center continues to advise the CSU on professional learning for their administrators, faculty, and staff.

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Dr. Loren Blanchard and Dr. Uri Treisman provide initial remarks to kick off the Co–Requisite Mathematics Summit.
Dr. Benjamin Duran
Central Valley
“The Central Valley Higher Education Consortium, with the support of The College Futures Foundation and the Charles A. Dana Center, is spurring exciting action in Central California. The Consortium is bringing together fourteen community colleges and three California State Universities to engage in a faculty–driven project to identify opportunities for and barriers to implementation of mathematics pathways across the region.”
Dr. Benjamin Duran, Executive Director, Central Valley Higher Education Consortium

Lead Agency

  • Central Valley Higher Education Consortium (CVHEC)

In 2017, the Dana Center launched work with the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium (CVHEC) to mobilize faculty leaders in establishing recommendations for mathematics pathways development in the California Central Valley. CVHEC, a nonprofit organization, comprises twenty–five accredited public and private colleges, universities, and community college district members. These institutions of higher education serve over four million students living in the Central Valley.

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Math Task Force Facilitators

  • Ben Duran, Executive Director, CVHEC
  • Virginia Madrid–Salazar, Strategies Lead, CVHEC

Math Task Force Co-Chairs

  • Jim Gilmore, Mathematics Instructor, Reedley College
  • Michael Bishop, Assistant Professor of Mathematics, California State University, Fresno
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Task Force Members
Name Title Institution
Michael Fredenberg Mathematics Instructor Bakersfield College
David Gove Professor of Mathematics CSU, Bakersfield
David G. Evans Dean of the College of Science CSU, Stanislaus
Name Title  Institution
Chad Houck Dean of Instruction Cerro Coso Community College
Ravi Somayajulu Mathematics Instructor Clovis Community College
James Ryan Mathematics Instructor Clovis Community College
Stephanie Collier Professor, Mathematics College of the Sequoias
Jared Burch Professor, Mathematics and Statistics College of the Sequoias
Lahna VonEpps Mathematics Professor Columbia College
Juanita Hester-Haynes Professor, Mathematics and Statistics Fresno City College
Donna Cooper Basic Skills Coordinator Fresno City College
Shawn Wirts Program Director – Mathematics Fresno Pacific University
Mai Meidinger Professor of Mathematics Merced College
Austin Adams Instructor of Mathematics Modesto Junior College
Cindy Pummill Algebra Instructor Porterville College
Di Reagan Mathematics Instructor Porterville College
Jackie Schwegel Mathematics Instructor San Joaquin Delta College
Rajanpreet Kaur Associate Professor (back–up) San Joaquin Delta College
Mark Williams Vice President of Instruction Taft College
Robert Pimentel Associate Dean of Educational Services West Hills College, Coalinga
Scott Wilson Mathematics Instructor West Hills College, Coalinga
Mike Chamberlain Mathematics Instructor West Hills College, Lemoore
Shawn Jackson Mathematics Instructor (back–up) West Hills College, Lemoore
Lilia Ruvalcaba Mathematics Instructor Oxnard College
Hussein Fahs Mathematics Instructor Oxnard College
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The Mission

Central Valley Higher Education Consortium (CVHEC), in collaboration with the Charles A. Dana Center at The University of Texas in Austin, launched an initiative to improve students’ success and completion rates in mathematics at colleges and universities in the California Central Valley in 2017. Faculty from the participating institutions formed the Central Valley Math Pathways Task Force, which was charged with developing recommendations to fulfill the following mission, goal, and objectives of the math pathways initiative. The California Acceleration Project also contributes to the work with support on policy.

The mission and goal of the Task Force is to raise student completion rates at Central Valley colleges and universities by redesigning and creating pathways in transfer level mathematics, aligned with students’ programs of study, that provide clear direction for completing mathematics courses in a timely manner. The mission and goal will be achieved in accordance with legislation from the California Legislature (e.g., Student Success Act, Assembly Bill 705 codified as EDC § 78213) and executive orders from the California State University Chancellor (EO 1100 revised August 2017), including direction that mathematics courses with prerequisites reflect only the skills and knowledge required in the course.

Objectives 

The objectives of the Task Force are to:

  • Communicate the importance of better alignment of mathematics pathways and courses with programs of study.
  • Identify and recommend well–defined math pathways from developmental to transfer-level courses, aligned with programs of study for certificates, AA/AS degrees and transfer degrees.  
  • Develop guidelines for corequisite courses and prerequisite courses one level below transfer, for various math pathways and in compliance with Assembly Bill 705 (EDC § 78213). 
  • Recommend evidence-based practices for placement, such as the Multiple Measures Assessment Project (MMAP) and advising in math pathways and courses that increase equitable access to programs of study.  
  • Research professional learning opportunities in innovative teaching strategies for mathematics faculty. These strategies will focus on using instructional delivery options, technologies, and tools to support student learning.
  • Provide a venue for communication between area colleges and universities on articulation issues.

Read the CVHEC Math Task Force recommendations report published in summer 2018. Upon publication of the report, the Task Force transitioned to work to create the enabling conditions for implementation. The Dana Center continues to support these efforts with professional learning and technical assistance focused on designing co-requisite courses and improving transfer and applicability of math courses across the two- and four-year sectors.

Generous Support

The College Futures Foundation provides support for the Dana Center Mathematics Pathways and CVHEC regional work.

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Featured Resources

CSU Co-Requisite Mathematics Summit

The Office of the Chancellor hosted a Co-Requisite Mathematics Summit on August 10-11, 2017. Uri Treisman and his colleagues from the Charles A.

Curricular Redesign and Gatekeeper Completion: A Multi-College Evaluation of the California Acceleration Project

The California Acceleration Project A report on the 2011-2012 implementation of the California Acceleration Project (CAP) in sixteen colleges within the California Community College System.

Level
Institution
Classroom
Process Stage
Planning
Implementing
Role
Institutional Leadership
Math Department
https://rpgroup.org/Portals/0/Documents/Archive/California-Acceleration-Project…

State Organizations

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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.