The Gateways to Completion (G2C) processhelps institutions create and subsequentlyimplement an evidence-based plan forimproving teaching, student learning andsuccess in high- enrollment courses thathave historically resulted in high rates of D’s,F’s, Withdrawal and Incomplete (high DFWIrates) especially for low-income, first-generation and historically underrepresentedstudents as defined by race and ethnicity.G2C is a Kresge Foundation fundedEducational Project.

John Gardner states regarding Gateways toCompletion, "the initiative now involvesapproximately 70 institutions in the US andone in Qatar, including eight others fromMichigan. External guidance for the project isprovided by a national non-profitorganization, the Gardner Institute forExcellence in Undergraduate Education,which I lead. In particular, I am serving asthe Gardner Institute’s Advisor for theEastern Michigan University’s work. Thisgives me an encore opportunity to againwork with the University after several visits inyears past.”

The Eastern Michigan University Gatewaycohort began in the 2016-2017 academicyear. The G2C project is led by Dr.Michael Tew, Associate Provost andAssociate Vice President for AcademicProgramming and Services, Division ofAcademic and Student Affairs. The G2Cproject is a three-year process. The G2CTaskforce was selected from participantsacross the EMU campus community. The courses selected for the EMU project:

BIO 110 - Introductory Biology ICHEM 121 - General Chemistry IMATH 105 - College Algebra

In this phase, faculty and staff begin to take actionon the recommendations that came from theComprehensive Institutional Report and Action Plandeveloped in Year One. Understanding that coursetransformation, as well as changes to policies andprocedures, require time. This year is crucial to bothpiloting course transformation and changes, andgoing through the governance processes, asnecessary, to make changes to policies andprocedures. Data will continue to be collected tomonitor progress and early outcomes. Faculty andstaff will continue to participate in face-to-facemeetings, as well as online webinars, anddiscussions with the Gateways to CompletionCommunity of Practice.

The Gateways to Completion process begins withStudy and Predict in Year One and involves usingthe tools provided to engage faculty and staff in aninstitutional self-study process that will identify theopportunities and conditions necessary for change.At the end of this first year, a ComprehensiveInstitutional Report and Action Plan are developedby representatives from the Course-SpecificCommittees.

Whether you choose to have a monthly or quarterlyreport, there are some tips you can learn to helpyour report shine. First is to make the reportrelevant to your audience. Selecting the rightinformation from a glut of data makes a difference insupporting the goals of your team and organization.Second, keep in mind that social media statisticsdon’t operate in a vacuum.

The Gateways to Completion project at Eastern MichiganUniversity began in Fall 2016, under the leadership of Dr.Michael Tew. As an educator and administrator, Michael Tewbelieves that “Every student has the capability to be successful.”Eastern Michigan University is committed to improving retentionrates, completion rates, reducing the achievement gaps, andpromoting greater student persistence. For this reason, EMUmade the decision to participate in G2C given: 1) The impactG2C would have on freshman retention rates (gateway courses),2) The educational partnership would discover any equityissues/problems and provide data on the achievement gaps, and3) the Gateways to Completion project is a classroom-basedretention program. The Gateways to Completion project at Eastern MichiganUniversity is comprised of dedicated administrators, faculty, andstaff. Each member was chosen because of their specific roleswithin the EMU community. These individuals have volunteeredto participate as Liaisons, Steering Committee Members,Department Heads, and Course Specific Committee Chairs forthe three-year Gateways to Completion Project. The Eastern Michigan University G2C Cohort is entering its thirdyear of examining gateways courses in Biology (110), Chemistry(121), and Mathematics (105). The process began with facultyanalyzing the DWFI rate in each course. The response to thedata encouraged the faculty and department heads to engage inthe process of course redesign. The impact on the faculty andcourses has been transformational. “The faculty’s insight into thecourse redesign, making smart choices, and the faculty’senthusiasm has led to the biggest success in the classroom,”according to Michael Tew. The faculty members have been ableto view student success by investigating the students' academicneeds then delivering content in a way the reaches all students.

The Supplemental Instruction (SI) Program offers free academic support for students bothinside and outside of the classroom. The Supplemental Instruction program is a voluntaryprogram, with students being able to opt-in or opt-out of SI. The SI program is offeredthrough the Holman Success Center and supervised by Director of Academic SupportProgram, Christine Deacons. Supplemental Instructors work directly with academicdepartments and faculty to provide support in some of the most challenging generaleducation and/or gateway courses. Each course that partners with the SI program has atrained SI Leader who provides support and guidance for students both in and out of theclassrooms.

Section

CHEM 121 Supplemental AttendanceBreakdown (Fall 2017-Winter 2018)

Semester SI Visits Type

12345678

Winter 2018Winter 2018Fall 2017Winter 2018Fall 2017Fall 2017Winter 2018Fall 2017

647513363286972334103

Built in SITraditional

Built in SI

TraditionalTraditionalTraditionalTraditional

Traditional

As noted above, the "built-in SI" method was used in thetwo sections of CHEM 121 that participated in the G2Cproject during the Winter 2018 semester.

The focus is on high attrition gatewaycourses. SI Leaders are EMU studentsinterested in assisting their fellow peerswho have been recommended byfaculty and have been trained tofacilitate biweekly collaborative studysessions. All SI Leaders are CRLAcertified. According to Amelia Parnis,Coordinator of the SupplementalInstruction and Tutoring, in the HolmanSuccess Center, 2,267 studentsparticipated in the SI for CHEM 121during the Fall 2017 and Winter 2018Semester.

0

10

20

30

40

50

Fall 2015 Fall 2016 Fall 2017

Percentage of DFWI Grades by Semester (All Sections)

BIO

110

MA

TH 1

05C

HEM

121

0

10

20

30

40

Fall 2015 Fall 2016 Fall 2017

0

10

20

30

40

50

Fall 2015 Fall 2016 Fall 2017

In Fall 2017, instructors in 5 of6 sections redesigned theircourse. The DFWI rate across allsections of the course droppedfrom 43.6% in Fall 2016 to26.44% in Fall 2017.

In Fall 2017, instructors in 2 of8 sections redesigned theircourse. The DFWI rate across allsections of the course droppedfrom 38% in Fall 2016 to25.73% in Fall 2017.

In Fall 2017, instructors in 7 of12 sections redesigned theircourse. The DFWI rate across allsections of the course droppedfrom 42.78% in Fall 2016 to31.78% in Fall 2017.

Rhonda Longworth, Provost and Executive VicePresident for Academic and Student Affairs Michael Tew, Associate Provost and Associate VicePresident of Academic Programming and Services

Doris Fields, Director of Undergraduate Studies Evan Finley, Manager, Program & Catalog Operations Christine Deacons, Director of Academic SupportPrograms John Koolage, Director of General Education Don Lund, Data System Analyst

Deborah Heyl-Clegg, Department Chair Deborah Ingram, Department Chair Amy Johnson, Course Specific Committee Chair Marianne Laporte, Department Chair Peggy Liggit, Director of the Faculty Development Center Calvin McFarland, Assistant Vice President of AcademicServices Nick Romerhausen, Director of Basic Speech Course Robert Winning, Course Specific Committee Chair Kim Rescola, Course Specific Committee Chair

Steering Committee Presentation to the Faculty Senate during the 2018-2019 Academic Year Presentation at the Connect Conference (Faculty Development Center) Board of Regents Presentation, 2018-2019 Academic Year Participate in G2C Webinars Student Learning Gains Survey distribution in Fall 2018 Analyze Data (throughout the academic year) Review DFWI rates, and discuss the impact of G2C Look for opportunities to recruit additional faculty to participate in G2C Completion of the Course-Specific Final Report and Comprehensive Report and Action Plan Gateways to Completion Conference, Atlanta, Georgia (March 2019) Future Plan: discuss next steps to improving student success on EMU campus