Improving Math Pathways
Welcome to the Transfer Hub newsletter. This month’s newsletter highlights Math Pathways. According to the American Mathematical Association of Two-year Colleges (AMATYC), Math Pathways is an effort to address longstanding and deep equity challenges in higher education. It involves restructuring math instruction to remove obstacles to achievement and building a strong foundation in the math skills students will need in their programs of study and careers, whi facilitating transfer.
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Transfer Spotlight
Each edition of the Transfer Hub will spotlight a group, subcommittee, institution, or organization that is working with the Higher Education Coordinating Commission to improve the transfer experience for students in Oregon. This spring’s Spotlight is on Math Pathways in Oregon.
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[Opinion] Aligning Math from K-12 Through College and Beyond
By Daniel Anderson, University and Academic Policy Specialist (Higher Education Coordinating Commission), Mark Freed, Education Specialist—Math Education (Oregon Department of Education), and Kama Almasi, Education Program Specialist (Oregon Department of Education)
For the past decade, Oregon educators have been reimagining math pathway options that clearly connect student needs and interests to math instruction, and K-12 curricula to higher education math classes. Now, this equity-driven thought-work is becoming a reality. To support it, The Oregon Math Project is engaged in an exciting collaborative opportunity to connect with other states working on math pathways through the Dana Center Launch Years Initiative. The goal of this initiative is to support the scaling of mathematics pathways from high school through postsecondary education and into the workplace, aligned to students’ goals and aspirations. Participation in the Launch Years Initiative is an opportunity for Oregon to share our work and learn from twenty other states working on math pathway options.
To prepare our students for 21st century careers, our system of math education must respond to meet the educational and career needs and aspirations of all students. Every student should have math course options that align with their educational goals and career aspirations. This includes students of color and students experiencing poverty who have been traditionally underserved by our education systems. Reimaging 21st century systems for math includes both new course options and attending to instructional approach that ensures all students not only succeed but have a deep, long-lasting, and applicable understanding of the concepts they are learning.
Oregon Transfer Council News
At the April 20 Transfer Council meeting, several new members were approved to serve on Transfer Council, Common Course Numbering (CCN) Subcommittees, and Major Transfer Map (MTM) Subcommittees. Some of these nominations were for newly formed groups while others were nominations to fill vacancies in existing groups.
The Council also approved a charge for the new General Education Subcommittee, which will work on examining and considering “the relationships between Common Course Numbering (CCN), General Education courses, and degree pathways” (Gen Ed Subcommittee Charge). The subcommittee will provide guidance for the Transfer Council and institutions as CCN decisions are being developed and recommended. Members on this subcommittee must be employed by a public university listed in ORS 352.002 or a community college operated under ORS chapter 341, including faculty, registrars, academic advisors, and academic administrators. To nominate someone to serve on this subcommittee, see the information in the Nomination Process: CCN Subcommittee information on the Resources for Common Course Numbering webpage. Nominations should be sent to TransferCouncil@hecc.oregon.gov
At the April Transfer Council meeting, updates were also shared on progress in the MTM Oregon Administrative Rules (OARs) Subcommittee and the Transfer Portal Project. For more on this work, see the meeting agenda and related materials on the 2023 Meeting Materials webpage.
Resources for Common Course Numbering Webpage Updates
As issues related to Common Course Numbering (CCN) arise and are addressed, HECC will update the Resources for Common Course Numbering webpage to reflect decisions and information. Here are some highlights on information that can be found on the revised and updated website.
2023 List of CCN Subcommittee Members. An updated list of subcommittee members for groups that met or are meeting during 2023.
CCN Outcomes Assessment Subcommittee Charge. One of the newest subcommittees is CCN Outcomes Assessment, which was convened to assist faculty subcommittees with “locating, refining, and recommending a guide for writing clear, observable, and measurable course learning outcomes based on recognized best practices.” The group of 8 members (4 from public community colleges and 4 from public universities) provides “expertise and guidance in the creation of course learning outcomes for CCNS aligned courses.” For more on the work this group is doing, please see their subcommittee charge.
CCN General Education Subcommittee Charge. The newest subcommittee is the CCN General Education Subcommittee, which is now accepting nominations. For more on the work of this group, see Oregon Transfer Council news, above.
Reports & Memos. In March, the 2022 CCN Math Subcommittee submitted the results of a review of the course learning outcomes for MTH 112Z, titled March 2023 Memo: MTH 112Z Precalculus: Trigonometry. The subcommittee recommended, and Transfer Council voted in favor of, retaining the originally recommended nine course learning outcomes for MTH 112Z, which will be revisited when the CCN course is up for review in 2025.
In April, Transfer Council received two memos from the CCN Writing Subcommittee. The first memo contained a recommendation that WR 115 not be aligned at this time, but instead be revisited for consideration when the subcommittee meets in Winter 2025 to assess the three writing courses aligned last year (WR 121Z, WR 122Z, and WR 227Z). The second memo addressed information literacy outcomes (ILOs), asking Transfer Council to exclude ILOs from consideration for CCN alignment for community colleges. After discussion, Transfer Council agreed with the recommendation in the memo, asking community colleges to exclude ILOs from the additional 25% that institutions can add to aligned course learning outcomes. The discussion of ILOs will be considered by the CCN General Education Subcommittee. Transfer Council suggested the subcommittee consult with the Information Literacy Advisory Group of Oregon (ILAGO) during these discussions.
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Student Spotlight
Transfer student success stories.
Cassidy Campbell attends Portland Community College and will transfer to Portland State University, where she will pursue a BA in Communication and a minor in Psychology.
Q: Tell us about your transfer pathway. What was challenging, and what was helpful?
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A: I am 25 and grew up in Germany, although I’m an American citizen. I moved to the US only a few years ago to attend college. Neither of my parents went to college, so I didn’t have help preparing me for what I would encounter. Instead, I had to reach out to people to help me understand the culture and system of higher education in the US. I started college during COVID, which was hard. It was really tough to try to find someone to talk to because schools were only meeting online.
When I started out at Portland Community College (PCC), I had a great advisor, but she changed jobs which I found out is a real problem with advisors. It seems like you just start to form a connection and then people move on. Also, because I grew up overseas, I lacked the cultural knowledge that would have helped with my transition to college. First, I went to the help desk at PCC and that is where I found out that I have an assigned advisor. I reached out to her (Alicia), which was so important. She was very helpful and willing to help me locate information. One of the most helpful things she did was to make a Google spreadsheet to help me map out my goals. We created a plan with all the courses I needed to take and a checklist to help me plan things out. There was room for courses I was interested in that didn’t fit within my major or minor, which helped me get a big picture of my path to a degree.
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Student Spotlight
Transfer Student Success Stories.
Courtney Lutz has an ASOT-Business degree from Portland Community College and is working toward a BS in Business Management and Leadership with a minor in Film Studies from Portland State University.
Q: Tell us about your transfer pathway. What was challenging, and what was helpful?
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A: I was born and raised in Oregon. In 2015, I graduated from McNary High School, in Keizer. Then I got a two-year scholarship to community college, where I stayed for about two years. At that time, I really didn’t know what I was doing or what I wanted to do with my life. So, I took a variety of classes, but I really wasn’t ready for school and as a result, I took 4-5 years off to explore my options. In 2020, I decided to return to school—right at the start of the pandemic. This time, I went to Portland Community College (PCC). Two years later, I had a degree—an ASOT-Business, which I completed online. Then last fall I transferred to Portland State University (PSU), to pursue my dream of becoming part of the film industry by completing a BS in Business Management and Leadership, with a Minor in Film Studies.
COVID started about the same time that I decided to return to school. I really struggled with online school during the pandemic, especially since I had been away from the classroom for several years. In addition to having to remember how to “do college,” I had to learn how to “do school” completely online. Back in 2015, when I was last in college, the idea of online classes was novel—it existed, but few colleges had many online classes. I think less than 25% of professors taught online. Attending all my classes online made for a rough start, but eventually I got the hang of it. In person classes are more my speed, that’s for sure.
Featured Reading on Math Pathways
AMATYC. (2021). Position statement for the American Mathematical Association of Two-year Colleges (AMATYC). Position on mathematics pathways.
Anderson, V. & Burdman, P. (2022). A new calculus for college admissions: How policy, practice, and perception of high school math education limit equitable access to college. Justequations.org.
Center for American Progress. (2019, September 19). Math pathways: The way forward.
The Dana Center. (2022). Re-envisioning math pathways to expand opportunities: The landscape of high school to post-secondary course sequences.
Ganga, E., & Mazzariello, A. (2018). Math pathways: Expanding options for success in college math. Education Commission of the States.
Huang, M. (2018). 2016-2017 impact report: Six years of results from the Carnegie Math Pathways™. Carnegie math pathways technical report. Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
Martin, J., & Krueger, C. (2020). Modernizing math pathways to support student transitions. Policy Brief. Education Commission of the States.
Mills, J. I., Thomas, A., Galindo, E., Hartline, B. K., & Dhingra, A. (2019). Native pathways to science, technology, engineering, and math graduate degrees. New Directions for Higher Education, 2019(187), 41–54.
Mokher, C., & Hu, S. (2022). Diverging paths: Exploring the association between initial math pathways and college students’ subsequent math performance. Journal of Postsecondary Student Success, 1(3).
Park, E. S., Ngo, F., & Melguizo, T. (2021). The role of math misalignment in the community college STEM pathway. Research in Higher Education, 62(4), 403–447.
Rutschow, Z. E. (2018). Making It Through: Interim Findings on Developmental Students’ Progress to College Math with the Dana Center Mathematics Pathways. Research Brief. Center for the Analysis of Postsecondary Readiness.
Transfer Council: Common Course Numbering Update
Faculty subcommittees are meeting to align the following courses: Business 101, 211, 213; English 104, 105, 106; Math 251, 252, 253, 254; Psychology 101, 201, and 202. Writing 115 was set aside until the Writing Subcommittee reconvenes in 2025 to evaluate alignment for WR 121Z, 122Z, and 227Z (see April 2023 Memo: WR 115). The Writing Subcommittee also submitted a memo regarding how information literacy outcomes affect course learning outcomes (see April 2023 Memo: Information Literacy).
The Systems and Operations Subcommittee has been discussing whether CCN plays a role in Co-requisite Math courses, split courses (e.g., MTH 111A and MTH 111B, which divides a typical MTH 111Z course into two terms), information literacy outcomes, and ideas for refining the CCN framework to improve clarity for institutions.
Finally, the CCN Outcomes Assessment Subcommittee has met to discuss creating best practices for faculty subcommittees when writing course learning outcomes. Four of the eight members of this group have been assigned to advise faculty subcommittees by attending meetings and offering feedback during the alignment process, specifically while creating course learning outcomes for assigned courses. If you are interested in attending meetings, please see the Current HECC Public Meeting Materials webpage for dates, times, and links to meetings.
For more on Common Course Numbering (CCN) in the State of Oregon, visit the HECC’s Resources for Common Course Numbering webpage.
Transfer Council: Major Transfer Maps Update
Join in the Public Process
Spring 2023 Transfer Council Public Meeting Schedule
Transfer Council welcomes public comment on public meetings relating to transfer. Sign up for public meeting notices here to receive final meeting dates and links to agendas, supporting documents, etc. Upcoming meeting dates are listed below:
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Transfer Council: 5/18, 6/15, 7/20, 8/17, 9/21, 10/19, 11/16, and 12/14; all meetings are held 10 am to 12:30 pm unless listed otherwise.
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Transfer Council Subcommittees: The following CCN Subcommittees have met/are meeting to align CCN work for 2023: Business, English, Math, Psychology, Writing, Systems and Operations, and Outcomes Assessment.
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