BATON ROUGE, La. – Louisiana’s adoption of math reform for college students in need of additional support is working. Data shared with the Louisiana Board of Regents during Wednesday’s meeting demonstrated that 52% of students taking corequisite math courses in 2023-24 were able to pass a credit-bearing math class during their first year.
This result represents a nearly five-fold increase in student success – from a dismal 11% pass rate for freshman students who took remedial math in 2020-21, according to the analysis of preliminary Louisiana academic data shared by Dr. Tristan Denley, Deputy Commissioner of Academic Affairs and Innovation.
The corequisite approach focuses on eliminating “barrier” standalone remedial courses, which have been widely recognized as negatively impacting student retention and credential completion. Instead, the corequisite approach places college students directly into credit-bearing math courses, along with providing supplemental instruction to help them master challenging skills and concepts. Last fall, following a successful math reform pilot, the Board of Regents implemented an initiative to fully scale corequisite math across Louisiana’s public institutions.
The approach adopted in Louisiana was based on research from several states that has demonstrated the positive impact of corequisite education. Just as in Tennessee, Georgia, and other states, Louisiana’s results show that students across the preparation spectrum did markedly better, with some of the greatest improvements earned by students with the weakest preparation.
“In order for Louisiana to reach its attainment goal of 60% of working-age adults holding a degree or credential by 2030, we must adopt what works and accelerate student success,” said Dr. Kim Hunter Reed, Commissioner of Higher Education. “These results are a testament to the hard work of students and faculty on campuses across our state. Our goal is to improve reform efforts further and expand them as well.”
According to Dr. Denley, Louisiana will continue to advance improvements in math reform, sharing what is working across institutions while working to yield stronger results. In addition, this fall two-year and four-year institutions are scaling corequisite English courses in place of remedial English across the state.
To further drive these reform efforts, the Ascendium Education Group, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and Kresge Foundation provided grant funding through the Strong Start to Finish Initiative to support professional development for faculty statewide, to encourage the use of high impact teaching techniques that improve students’ learning mindset and success in the corequisite classroom. Regents selected 13 outstanding corequisite faculty from the following campuses across the state to participate by serving as Mindset Meauxtivators:
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- Baton Rouge Community College
- Delgado Community College
- LSU A&M
- LSU Shreveport
- Nicholls State University
- Northwestern State University
- Nunez Community College
- River Parishes Community College
- South Louisiana Community College
- Southern University A&M
- SOWELA Technical Community College
- University of Louisiana at Lafayette
- University of Louisiana at Monroe
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These faculty champions, who were in town for their inaugural training session, were introduced at the Board meeting.
In other Board action, Regents recognized the 2023-24 Governor’s Military and Veteran Friendly Campuses (GMVF). For the fifth consecutive year, all public postsecondary institutions earned the military-friendly designation. In addition, Louisiana Christian University, a private institution, also met the standard to be designated as a GMVF campus for the upcoming academic year.
This is also the first year that campuses could apply to receive Gold, Silver or Bronze recognition for providing additional supports to student veterans and their families, such as a veteran’s center or dedicated counseling services. Twenty-one (21) institutions met the criteria for consideration to be designated in the Gold, Silver, or Bronze Tier for 2024-25.
Bossier Parish Community College is the only institution to attain the Gold Tier of Distinction for 2024-25. Charlton J. Meginley, COL (USAF Retired), Secretary of the Louisiana Office of Veterans Affairs, offered his congratulations to the recognized campuses, noting the importance of this support.
“Our colleges and universities are drivers for military and veteran leadership who will continue to serve in their community and make a difference,” said Sec. Meginley. “What BPCC is doing for student veterans is trendsetting. Our institutions are realizing the value of initiatives such as the Governor’s Military and Veteran-Friendly Campus program.”
Dr. Wendi Palermo, LCTCS’s Chief Education & Training Officer, spoke on behalf of Chancellor Rick Bateman and BPCC.
“Bossier Parish Community College is not just known for being military-friendly but through a sustained commitment to high standards in serving veterans and military-affiliated families,” said Dr. Palermo. “This institution has become a model for excellent service to those who have served us and served our country.”
Eleven (11) institutions earned the Silver Tier, and an additional nine (9) achieved the Bronze status.
“I am proud that our institutions are so committed to supporting our student veterans and their families as they complete their military service and pursue their credentials. Congratulations to Chancellor Bateman and Bossier Parish Community College for achieving the highest designation and to all of our institutions who are going above and beyond for our veterans,” said Regents Chair Gary Solomon, Jr.
The full GMVF report approved by the Board is available for review here.
2024-25 Governor’s Military and Veteran Friendly Campuses Tiers of Distinction
Gold
Bossier Parish Community College
Silver
Delgado Community College
Fletcher Technical Community College
Grambling State University
LSU A&M
LSU Alexandria
LSU Eunice
LSU Shreveport
Northwestern State University
Southeastern Louisiana University
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
University of Louisiana at Monroe
Bronze
Baton Rouge Community College
Louisiana Christian University
Northwest Louisiana Technical Community College
South Louisiana Community College
Southern University at Shreveport
SOWELA Technical Community College
Louisiana Tech University
Nicholls State University
University of New Orleans
The Board of Regents will hold its next regularly scheduled meeting in September. The two-day meeting will include annual budget hearings on September 24, followed by the full Board meeting on September 25.
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Contact
Chris Yandle, Ph.D., APR, Associate Commissioner for Strategic Communications
chris.yandle@laregents.edu • 985-373-5845