Sinclair honored for math programs,
Michigan’s community colleges, beset by low graduation rates, are retooling their math programs using some of the strategies deployed by Sinclair Community College.
Other colleges too have inquired about Sinclair’s approach. A community college in Austin, Texas, and another school in Spokane, Wash., are among those who have shown interest.
“They come from all over,” said Kathleen Cleary, Sinclair’s associate provost for student completion. “We’re just trying to help.”
Area colleges are teaching math in new ways but perhaps none have received as much national attention as Sinclair has.
The attention has come because changes the school has made have resulted in measurable improvements in graduation rates.
Cleary said Sinclair began looking at ways to restructure math courses in 2009, by refocusing math offerings so that the classes students take correspond to their career fields.
Sinclair has also tried to cut down on remedial math classes, offering one-week “boot camps” as refresher courses.
A specialized math lab gives students a space to study and get tutoring.
The changes appear to be working. Course completion has increased from 71 percent in 2013 to 76 percent in 2016, said Cleary.
During the 2017 academic year, Sinclair awarded an estimated 4,600 degrees and certificates, up from 3,292 during the 2013 academic year.
Assuming those estimates hold, that means in just four years the school has had a 40 percent increase in credentials awarded.