College Profiles

Coastal Bend Community College

Coastal Bend College 

Background

Coastal Bend College (CBC) is a federally designated Hispanic-serving institution with four campuses in nine rural counties in South Texas, including the primary campus in Beeville, Texas. CBC’s enrollment is 66% Hispanic, 27% white and 4% black.

CBC strives to engage its 4,196 students (Fall 2009) in the learning process to make individual learners more knowledgeable, self-determined, strategic and empathetic. Its challenges are significant given that many students are first-generation–in-college and most enter academically underprepared with weak study

Strategies

CBC is now providing supplemental instruction (SI) in all math courses along with an enhanced student-centered climate and stronger mathematics curriculum including best practices in teaching and learning. CBC now offers peer tutoring, instruction in time-management, assistance building study skills, and an orientation to CBC resources. CBC also improved its math-specific advisor training.

Supplemental Learning

Coastal Bend College began requiring two hours of SI for intermediate algebra and three hours for college algebra. The intervention was piloted and subsequently brought to scale in 2006. Math faculty met weekly and continue to meet at least monthly to review progress in classes and to evaluate new techniques. They continue to attend various conferences and share information received. To date, 1,995 students have been served and the intervention has been expanded to all algebra and college algebra classes (with the exception of Internet and night courses) at all four campuses.

Results

Course success rates (grades of C or above) in both courses have increased from 44% in Math 0322 and 39% in Math 1314 to record highs of 72% and 75%, respectively. Although recent success results have varied, analysis indicates that fluctuations were likely due to efforts to continuously improve, which included changes in testing formats, textbooks, and software. Based on current student grades, projected success and completion results for the current semester are very promising.