Post-secondary education is crucial to the long-term success of today’s students, but retention data shows that significant numbers of students are not completing their programs. The situation is particularly alarming in STEM fields. Many of these students are dropping out entirely, and many more are switching majors, resulting in a significant loss of talent for STEM professions. Even in non-STEM programs, struggles with gateway math courses are contributing to low retention rates.
In addition to the serious, long-lasting impact dropping out has on students’ lives, it’s also important to also acknowledge the significant financial impact on institutions when students leave. The loss of tuition and funding when a student does not return harms the school’s ability to provide resources and opportunities to others, ultimately affecting the entire student body.
If you can help more first year students succeed in their math courses, more students will reach graduation.
Success in math courses plays a major role in student retention in STEM courses, but also in the many programs that have a math gateway course, such as business, economics, or psychology.
Studies show that final grades in first year math courses are a critical factor that influences dropout rates. And managing to just scrape by in first year isn’t enough, since students will struggle in upper year courses that rely on that mathematical foundation if their understanding is weak.
The Student Success Platform is designed to help students be successful in their math courses by providing them the assistance they need when they need it the most – when they are working on their own. It consists of three interconnected components that work together to ensure the students get the help they need, when they need it.
Watch this video to see how it works:
Students use this mobile app while working on homework and assignments and while studying for tests. The Maple Calculator App helps your students learn, not cheat. The app allows them to quickly visualize problems, check solutions, identify mistakes, and practice with similar problems.
The Analysis Hub determines and responds to your students’ needs. While students are working, the Analysis Hub analyzes the students’ app use, at an aggregate data level, to identify areas of struggle. When available, the Analysis Hub also takes into account optional feedback from instructors and teaching assistants, and optional course information from the LMS, such as course outlines and learning objectives. This information is used to suggest targeted resources to students based on their needs. The Analysis Hub combines human expertise and AI tools, informed by the knowledge and experiences of instructors, tutors, and learners, to provide content tailored specifically for each class.
Important! Instructor engagement and participation is optional. Instructors have the opportunity to participate if they wish to, but the Student Success Platform is designed so that students can benefit without any time investment from their instructors.
Your students are provided with curated content, tools, and services to help your students succeed. Based on the recommendations coming from the Analysis Hub, students are supplied with tailored, self-serve resources that help them bridge gaps and clarify any confusion in their understanding.
Maplesoft has provided mathematics-based software solutions to educators, engineers, and researchers for over 35 years. Our products and services are used by more than 8000 educational institutions, research labs, and companies in over 90 countries.
Our mission is to provide powerful technology to explore, derive, capture, solve and disseminate mathematical problems and their applications, and to make math easier to learn, understand, and use.