Course Taking Patterns and Pathways Through STEM A Case Study Using Individual-Level Institutional Data for Program Assessment

Main Article Content

Mary Walczak
Kathryn Ziegler-Graham
Emily Berry
Katherine Henry
Kiegan Rice
Marc Richards

Abstract

Motivated by assessment of externally awarded grants and internal programmatic practices, we used transcript and demographic data for students entering a highly selective residential liberal arts college between 2002-2015 to answer institutional-level questions about course taking patterns and pathways relevant to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). We used transcript data to categorized a student’s intention to major in STEM at three points: their first semester, at the end of sophomore year, and at graduation. Students took several paths toward graduation including complete persistence in STEM, early switching, late switching and double switching. Using this classification scheme, we investigated any potential gender effect or “new building effect†and compared participation in an integrated introductory chemistry and biology course sequence to traditional discipline-specific sequences. For students where self-reported data on intention existed, either from matriculation surveys or major declaration, we compared our transcript classification with self-reported interest in STEM. Relying solely on institutional level data provides an inclusive, unbiased analysis with minimal missing data.

Article Details

Section
Articles
Author Biographies

Mary Walczak, St. Olaf College

Associate Dean for Natural Sciences and Mathematics Edolph A. Larson and Truman E. Anderson, Sr. Professor of Chemistry Department of Chemistry St. Olaf College, 1520 St. Olaf Avenue, Northfield, MN 55057

Kathryn Ziegler-Graham

Associate Professor

Department of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science

St. Olaf College, 1520 St. Olaf Avenue, Northfield, MN 55057

Emily Berry

Department of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science

St. Olaf College, 1520 St. Olaf Avenue, Northfield, MN 55057

Katherine Henry

Department of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science

St. Olaf College, 1520 St. Olaf Avenue, Northfield, MN 55057

Kiegan Rice

Department of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science

St. Olaf College, 1520 St. Olaf Avenue, Northfield, MN 55057

Marc Richards

Department of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science

St. Olaf College, 1520 St. Olaf Avenue, Northfield, MN 55057