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February 18, 2026

Taking to heart Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­ President Paul Broadie's strategic vision to adopt new and innovative ways to drive teaching excellence and student success, Dr. Adam Christopherson, chair of Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­ Mathematics, and his faculty team, formulated a modular approach to instruction that has changed the game for students who come to the college in need of some remediation in the subject — removing some stress and risk factors along the way.

"Being an open-access institution, we accept students at all levels of preparation," Christopherson said. "Typically, students take a placement test when they enter that determines if the applicant is college-ready in Mathematics and English. Those who don't meet those standards take developmental courses, which are the fundamentals." 

What was formerly a two-course track in Math is now one pass-fail course with six modules throughout. During the semester, students may take all six or as many as they can complete. If they pass the first three, they'll receive a passing grade in the course, even though they haven't completed all the modules, because they have moved from one tier of fundamentals to another. 

"We look at this approach as a progression rather than 'passing,'" Christopherson said.

"And, the pass-fail completion isn't calculated into the student's GPA, which would factor into their eligibility for financial aid." 

Dr. Stefanie Waschull, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs for Liberal Arts and Science at Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­, calls this a "lower-stakes" approach that has reduced the number of students who leave the college because they cannot successfully complete developmental Math. 

Previously, Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­ observed that students who started the two stages of developmental Math in the old system — Arithmetic and basic Algebra — who couldn't get through the first unit test were very unlikely to complete the curriculum. 

"In 2024, when we first implemented the new modularized approach, we saw student success rates in developmental Math courses skyrocket," Waschull said. 

"Our Liberal Arts and Sciences faculty prepare students from around the state for successful transfer to the University of Florida (UF). Between 70 and 80 percent of students who apply to UF each term are accepted — we send more students there than any other Florida College Institution. We are especially proud of our STEM student success. Math and science courses are very challenging, and our STEM transfer students often take numerous difficult classes at one time. The faculty work diligently to meet students where they are and provide them with the skills they need to succeed at UF."

Waschull indicated one tweak alone — providing more face-to-face sections for a gateway Math course, in lieu of online ones — resulted in a 10 percent improvement in the course outcomes, according to student success data, positively impacting retention and enrollment.

"The beauty of the modularized approach is, for those students who didn't retain the fundamentals enough to exhibit proficiency in module one, they can take it again in the same semester and re-test; it takes the pressure off by allowing time to master the skills," Christopherson said. "And, the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­ Math Studio has been instrumental in providing a space for specialized developmental instruction and assistance."

The Math Studio in the heart of the Northwest Campus is a large computer classroom designed with the resources to help students succeed in Math. It offers both courses and walk-in tutoring.

Christopherson noted that one of the special things about community colleges is working with students from a wide array of academic preparation from high schools of varying caliber, and imparting the skills necessary to ensure success in the workplace or at the university level. 

"We serve a dual mission," he explained. "We serve our community primarily, but we're also a pipeline for many students coming from all over to Santa Fe on their way to UF. Our courses have to be on-par with UF courses." 

Christopherson referenced the success of students in the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­ Gator Engineering program — a partnership with the UF Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering, a Top-50 program among public institutions, that sees many of their specialties No. 24 or better in the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings. 

"Our focus is always teaching first, whereas R1 universities, particularly elite ones, often have competing interests, prioritizing research." Christopherson said. "I believe we give our students a strong foundation to then go on to upper-division courses, where they learn from leaders in cutting edge fields."