Increasing
enrollments, as well as student performance and
feedback indicate the OSU/NOC Gateway program
is a success.
Responding
to a recent survey, Gateway students said they
were highly satisfied with the Gateway coursework
and that courses prepared them to succeed at
OSU.
“We
are delighted that students are telling us the
Gateway program is preparing them to succeed
at the university level,” said OSU System
CEO and President David Schmidly. “The
primary reason for this partnership was to provide
access and success for
Students
who have applied for freshman admission to OSU,
but do not meet current admission requirements
are offered provisional admission through the
Gateway Program at NOC-Stillwater.
Enrollment
in the program has been rising steadily since
it began in Fall 2003 when 570 students enrolled
at NOC/Stillwater. Enrollment increased to 1,076
in Fall 2004 and is projected to surpass 1,500
in Fall 2005.
Gateway
students pay the same tuition and fees as OSU
students and have access to the campus transportation
system, computer laboratories, OSU residence
halls, the Edmon Low Library, Colvin Recreation
Center, the Student Union, Student Counseling
Services, Career Center, Student Health Services
and a variety of other programs, services and
activities, including most OSU student clubs.
Dr.
Gail Gates, OSU Associate Vice President for
Undergraduate Education, said telephone interviews
with Gateway participants were conducted in March
2004 with students who completed courses taught
by NOC in Fall 2003.
Surveys
were completed by 248 students or 56 percent
of the students who began taking courses at NOC
in Fall 2003. Nearly all of the students
who participated in the survey (96 percent) had
taken remedial math at NOC in Fall 2003.
Students
were asked about adequacy of preparation for
OSU courses, the advantages and disadvantages
of courses, their satisfaction with instruction
and recommendations to improve instruction and
academic support services.
Of
the respondents, 91 percent said they were “satisfied” or “very
satisfied” with overall instruction in
the Gateway program. Eighty-eight percent gave
the same responses for the quality of self-paced
instruction, and 84 percent said the same about
computer-based instruction.
Sixty
percent of the respondents said they were “well
prepared” or “very well prepared” for
OSU math courses as a result of taking the NOC
courses.
Gates
said 93 percent of the Gateway students said
they were “satisfied” or “very
satisfied” with the availability of computers
outside class, and 95 percent said they were “satisfied” or “very
satisfied” with academic support, such
as tutoring that was available outside the classroom.
Gates
said the advantages of the Gateway program include
the ability of Gateway students to work at their
own pace, smaller class sizes, more one-on-one
assistance, availability and quality of tutoring,
more computer-based instruction and more personal
attention from instructors.
“Based
on the survey and our experience, we feel the
program is very successful,” Gates said. “Gateway
students are doing as well or better in NOC-
provided courses as they were in OSU remedial
classes, and they are doing as well in subsequent
university-level courses. Their retention rates
are the same or higher in some cases, and they
have positive perceptions of their OSU/NOC education.”
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