Dive Brief:
- NCES data shows nearly half of bachelor’s degree STEM majors and 69% of their associate’s degree counterparts leaving STEM within six years, either by switching majors or leaving school.
- According to eCampus News, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County is shifting the format of intro courses that have historically served to weed out potential majors and launching a major retention initiative with National Institutes of Health funding.
- Online nonprofit Western Governors University relies on mentors, tutoring, flipped classroom sessions, and competency-based options to keep students engaged and on track, according to the article.
Dive Insight:
Butler University was also featured in the eCampus News article for its focus on analytics to monitor student performance. This method gives professors the ability to quickly identify students who are falling behind and help them understand why.
All of these strategies are important steps in the right direction. Colleges have spent most of their histories treating introductory STEM courses as trials only the absolute brightest and most innate learners can pass. With high demand among certain STEM industries, the national economy needs colleges to leave that model behind. The new model will be more expensive and labor-intensive, but successful retention efforts pay themselves off. All administrators should be considering which method might work best for students on their campuses.