Only about half of students placed into developmental mathematics complete the developmental sequence and continue on to credit-bearing coursework. Many institutions have turned to first-year seminars as a strategy for developing the skills of underprepared students. This series of papers funded through the Greater Texas Foundation Faculty Fellows program describes the impact of two first-year seminars designed for students at a four-year institution who were classified as not ready for college mathematics—one delivered in-person and one delivered virtually.
Key Findings
· First-year seminars (FYS) can significantly benefit students placed in remedial courses.
· Students enrolled in a FYS were 2.3x more likely to pass remedial math and 2.5x more likely to pass the subsequent college-level math course than comparable students who didn’t enroll in a FYS.
· Students who enrolled in a FYS earned an overall GPA 0.58 points higher than their peers.
· The online version of the FYS was less effective but was still an improvement over no intervention at all.
First-Year Seminars: An Effective Developmental Strategy for Remedial Mathematics?
