Tag Archives: SJSU’s Four Pillars of Student Success

October is Academic Success Month

The following message has been shared with students to promote preparation for spring 2018 registration:

Spartans like you are taking advantage of many resources during October’s Academic Success Month to help prepare for the future, starting with spring 2018 registration. Your fellow students are using online tools and attending a number of events to get a jumpstart on planning courses for next semester and beyond. You have access to these resources, too, to begin planning a 15-unit course load that will keep you on track for graduation.

Successful students will check their exact registration appointment in MySJSU on Oct. 24 to be ready when registration begins on Oct. 31. They also email advising questions in advance of their registration time to academic.advising@sjsu.edu

Students who use our MyGPS online tools prepare for the upcoming semester and beyond with resources that include: MyRoadmap (four year degree plans for all majors), MyProgess (shows what classes you have left in their degree), MyScheduler (allows you to plan classes around your outside commitments), and MyPlanner (maps out all the classes you need until graduation). http://www.sjsu.edu/mygps/

Other events Spartans will be attending include:

  • Ask an Advisor: 10/16 – 10/19 from 11am – 3pm: Advising at tabling on 7th Street plaza
  • One stop Pre-Registration Advising & Resource Fair: Advising Connections/Spartan Up: Wed, Oct. 25 between 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.:AS BBQ pits located between the AS house and the West Garage (Fourth Street). Lunch will be available between 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. or until the food is gone.)

Your fellow Spartans also take advantage of many resources to support their academic success all year long:

Like many of your fellow Spartans, we hope you find the resources and activities available during October’s Academic Success Month to be helpful in planning your next semester at SJSU.

April 2017 Newsletter: Grant Partners SJSU and East Side Union High School District on College Readiness

Photo: Provided by Tom Reisz From left, Larry Bach (WC Overfelt); Gil Agoylo (Silver Creek); Victoriano Castillo, Jr. (Independence); Maria-Lai Tran (Independence); Tom Reisz (SJSU); and Mary Barrett-Wong (Silver Creek) discuss high school math curriculum during a workshop in Chino, Calif.

Photo: Provided by Tom Reisz
From left, Larry Bach (WC Overfelt); Gil Agoylo (Silver Creek); Victoriano Castillo, Jr. (Independence); Maria-Lai Tran (Independence); Tom Reisz (SJSU); and Mary Barrett-Wong (Silver Creek) discuss high school math curriculum during a workshop in Chino, Calif.

By David Goll

San Jose State University is seeking to increase the odds that incoming students are proficient at math before they even set foot on campus. SJSU has entered into a cooperative program with the East Side Union High School District to kick off a new math instructional curriculum known as Mathematics Reasoning with Connections (MRWC) in fall 2017 at five of the district’s campuses: Independence, Overfelt, Mt. Pleasant, Silver Creek and Santa Teresa high schools. The curriculum is designed to help students grasp the concept behind mathematical formulas as well as meet minimum standards for proficiency set by the California State University system.

SJSU is part of a consortium of several other CSU campuses, including Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State San Bernardino, along with high school districts, that has secured a state grant of nearly $1.3 million, the California Math Readiness Challenge Initiative Grant. The funding is being used to devise the new curriculum, cover operations beginning in the 2017-18 academic year and provide professional development number of math teachers districtwide, according to Tom Reisz, program coordinator for SJSU’s Early Assessment Program and Early Start Program.

Four other experimental math instruction programs — in consortiums led by Cal State Monterey Bay, Cal State Sacramento, San Diego State University and UCLA — have also received state grants of the same size, according to Reisz.

Preparing incoming students for study at the college level to increase their chances of earning a degree in four years is one of the university’s Four Pillars of Student Success Plan. Students who enter SJSU with remedial needs are less likely to graduate in four years, with only six percent of students with double remedial needs graduating in four years compared to the the overall four-year graduation rate of 14 percent for 2016. In fall 2015, 16 percent of students in Santa Clara County high schools fell short of the CSU math requirements, according to data from the California State University system. Among the freshman class admitted to SJSU in fall 2016, about 22 percent of students failed to meet the minimum math standards.

High schools students have several ways to show they are prepared for college-level math, through exemptions described online or by passing the entry-level math (ELM) exam. Those without an exemption or an acceptable score on the ELM are required to enroll in remedial math classes to prepare for general education (GE) math. CSU officials want to decrease the number of students needing those remedial courses through the Early Start Program, which seeks to improve the level of academic readiness among students entering the university with remedial requirements in math, English or both. Last summer, Reisz said 914 incoming students took remedial math classes both on campus and online.

“Students often leave high school with a better understanding of mathematical procedure than conceptual underpinnings of math topics,” Reisz said.

A math concept is defined as the “why” or the big idea of math — knowing the workings behind the answer. Math educators contend gaining knowledge of concepts reduces the need for having to memorize answers or formulas.

Reisz said instructing students in math concepts is emphasized in the Common Core State Standards that have been adopted by the California Department of Education, as they have in 41 other states nationwide. High school students who reach such advanced math disciplines as Calculus are familiar with an emphasis on learning concepts.

The new curriculum to be introduced this fall in the East Side district will emphasize this approach from Math 1 classes to Calculus, according to Lyla Hua, an instructional coach for the district. She will directly advise nine math teachers at the five participating schools in the new curriculum starting later this year, but preparation has already begun.

“The program may not begin until the fall, but we are all actively engaged in early conversations about the program,” said Hua, who attended a workshop about the California Math Readiness Challenge held in early March in the Los Angeles suburb of Chino with the teachers selected for the program.

Hua said the major benefits of the new approach to teaching math will be teachers and students using communication, collaboration, flexibility and creativity in solving problems.

“It promotes a conceptual understanding of math, not just the procedural,” she said. “Our district feels very positively about the program’s philosophy, and we are all very hopeful for its success.”

September 2016 Newsletter: Provost Update – Creating a Culture of Success

Over the summer, I had the pleasure of meeting many of our incoming students and their parents at orientation sessions. The students were full of excitement, mixed with a little nervousness, at starting a new chapter in their lives at San Jose State University. I talked with many of these Spartans and their families; the overwhelming emotion they expressed is optimism about their future.

Our new Spartans and their families shared with VP for Student Affairs Reggie Blaylock and me at orientation that they want to complete their degrees in four years for first-time students and two years for transfer students. They believe they can do it. Reggie and I believe they can do it, too. We are committed to doing everything we can to ensure they succeed at San Jose State — and we need you to join us in supporting our students to attain their goals.

SJSU’s Four Pillars of Student Success: College Readiness, Advising, Student Engagement and Clearing Bottlenecks will continue to lead our campus-wide efforts to make meaningful improvements around student success. As our Academic Senate Chair Michael Kimbarow said at the President’s Welcome Address in August, we are tearing down the walls between divisions and using our four pillars to support all students. Academic Affairs and Student Affairs staff and faculty are working together in unprecedented ways to connect students with resources while helping them build meaningful relationships. Our other divisions — University Advancement, Administration and Finance, and Athletics — are also working closely with us in creating a culture of success at SJSU.

We welcome the leadership of our new President Mary Papazian, who is committed to improving graduation and retention rates while also enhancing the student experience at SJSU. She brings with her a strong background in developing strategies to lead our efforts. She is supportive of the work we have undertaken and I am confident she will provide enthusiastic vision as we move forward.

I am especially looking forward to co-hosting a Student Success Summit with Assemblymember Evan Low on Sept. 30 to explore ways we can work with our K-12 and community college partners, and legislative leaders, to improve graduation and retention rates. While most of the day’s events will be closed to the public, the general campus is invited to hear Martha Kanter, former under secretary of the U.S. Department of Education and a former chancellor of the Foothill-DeAnza Community College District, give a keynote speech from 8 to 9 a.m. in Student Union Room 1.

Through our partnership with Student Affairs, we have launched a few exciting initiatives this year including the Spartan Scholars Program, a new mentor community and a Faculty-In-Residence program. We are continuing the Coffee with a Professor program that allows students to have informal interactions with faculty. In addition, Stacy Gleixner, interim AVP for Student Academic Success, and Amy Strage, AVP for Faculty Development and director of the Center for Faculty Development, are sharing weekly tips on how faculty can easily incorporate high-impact practices into courses.

I am also looking for ways to engage with students, staff and faculty members throughout the year. Reggie and I spent the first home football game with the Spartan Squad students who shouted their school spirit. I will attend many more Athletics events this semester and would love to see you all there. I’ve enjoyed meeting Spartans at many welcome back events in recent weeks, including those hosted by the Chicanx/Latinx Student Success Task Force and the African American Student Success Task Force. I also would like to coordinate monthly disc golf games for students, staff and faculty members who know the sport to compete with me in a friendly face off. If you are interested and know the basics of disc golf, send me an email at provost@sjsu.edu.

As we continue in our fall semester, please remember that we are all responsible for helping our students succeed – in and out of the classroom. I appreciate having all of you as partners in this vitally important work.