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Support for a Three-Year Pilot Program of the Statway Curriculum as an
Alternative for Establishing Proficiency in
Quantitative Reasoning
AS-3001-10/AA/APEP (Rev)
RESOLVED: That the Academic Senate of the California State University (ASCSU) endorse the
recommendations of the Chancellor’s General Education Advisory Committee (GEAC)
regarding the two-semester (or quarter equivalent) Statway curriculum as an alternative
for achieving proficiency in quantitative reasoning; and be it further
RESOLVED: That the ASCSU support a three-year pilot project of Statway for the six identified
California Community College Districts and their collaborating CSUs. This pilot enables
students who successfully complete the Statway curriculum to earn three semester units
(or the equivalent in quarter units) of baccalaureate credit that may be applied to General
Education (GE) Breadth in Quantitative Reasoning (“GE Area B4”); and be it further
RESOLVED: That the ASCSU recommend that these Statway courses be temporarily exempted from
the usual requirement that any GE Area B4 course carry a prerequisite of Intermediate
Algebra; and be it further
RESOLVED: That the ASCSU encourage both the pilot institutions to collect evaluative data and
GEAC, in collaboration with the Math Council, to monitor those data to assure that the
Statway curriculum results in demonstrated student success in subsequent coursework
and/or comparable pass rates in the sequence; and be it further
RESOLVED: That the ASCSU distribute this resolution to The Board of Trustees of the CSU, Campus
Presidents and Provosts/Vice Presidents of Academic Affairs, California Community
Colleges Presidents and Provosts/Vice Presidents of Academic Affairs, the General
Education Advisory Committee and the CSU General Education Interest Group
listservs, CSU Campus Senate Chairs, CSU Math Council, and the California
Intersegmental Articulation Council.
RATIONALE: Statway offers a two-semester, statistics-based alternative to the existing
four-semester developmental pathway to successful completion of Area 4B of the GE
Breadth requirements. The Carnegie Foundation developed learning outcomes for
Statway in consultation with developmental mathematics and statistics representatives
from both two- and four-year institutions as well as from the American Statistical
Association, Mathematical Association of America, American Mathematical Society,
American Mathematical Association of Two Year Colleges, and National Council of
Teachers of Mathematics. Reviews of student learning outcomes by related professional
organizations are ongoing. Members of GEAC whose disciplines require the study and
use of statistics will also provide ongoing advice and oversight during the pilot period.
For students enrolled in California Community Colleges and California State
Universities, the current developmental math pathway can be a roadblock to degree
completion. Nationally, 60% of students are placed in developmental math, while the figure rises to 90% among low income and minority students; moreover, only about 30% of students placed in the developmental pathway complete the sequence. Most of those
who fail to complete the math pathway do so by attrition not actual failure; two-thirds of
those who do not complete the developmental math sequence nevertheless pass all
courses in which they were enrolled. Should students in developmental math later decide
to pursue a STEM career, bridge courses building on Statway could accommodate their
ambition to do so. This also fulfills the requirements for the multiple subjects teaching
credential.
The six participating California College Districts are:
1. Foothill-De Anza Community College District
2. Los Angeles Community College District
3. Mount San Antonio Community College District
4. Los Rios Community College District
5. San Diego Community College District
6. San Francisco Community College District
The participating CSUs are:
1. Cal Poly Pomona
2. Northridge
3. Sacramento
4. San Diego
5. San Francisco
6. San Jose
Approved – March 17-18, 2011
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