Some students complete first-semester calculus in high school and start their post-secondary studies ahead of the game, or at least not behind. Others complete calculus in high school, but nonetheless place into courses below calculus at the start of college. Still others do not attempt calculus in high school. In South Carolina, there is a significant racial and socioeconomic disparity between engineering students who place below calculus and those who enter college calculus-ready.
Narrowing that gap and broadening participation in engineering by reducing attrition rates along the precalculus pathway to an engineering degree requires that the secondary schools, two-year colleges, and four-year colleges work together to identify barriers and to develop coordinated action plans for surmounting those barriers.
The Workshop on Reducing Attrition in Precalculus Pathways to Engineering Degrees (WRAPPED) brings together action teams of three people from each of 30 secondary and post-secondary institutions across South Carolina for a two-day workshop.
WRAPPED is designed to meet three goals:
- Identify factors that affect initial college mathematics placement for engineering-intending students in South Carolina.
- Build cross-institutional collaborations both within and across educational levels.
- Develop specific implementation plans for addressing a single barrier at multiple institutions within an educational level or across multiple levels.
Results of WRAPPED
Results of WRAPPED include specific implementation plans for pilot interventions across the state as well as a better understanding of the barriers to engineering success as perceived by faculty, staff, and administrators who are deeply engaged with the precalculus engineering population. Placed within the context of existing theoretical frameworks and supported by empirical data on persistence in engineering, these understandings will enable statewide leadership teams to develop large-scale interventions for increasing persistence to degree among students starting in precalculus.
Previous WRAPPED Conference
The WRAPPED Conference supports the goals of SC Includes to bring together educators across the state to focus on emerging factors contributing to mathematics placement, major selection, and preparation for college.
Conference Details
Schedule: Download schedule
Hotel Info: Crowne Plaza Charleston Airport: 4831 Tanger Outlet Boulevard, North Charleston, SC 29418. Please do not book a room directly. We will handle all reservations for accepted participants. Visit Website
Transportation: The fastest way for each action team to arrive at the conference is by driving! We will provide round-trip mileage reimbursement for each action team traveling together to and from the conference.
Catering: On-site lunches will be provided by Cru Catering and Dish & Design. Vegan and gluten-free options will be available.
Dinners: Dinner on Tuesday night will be in self-selected groups of 6-8 at restaurants around Charleston. We will make reservations at a wide range of venues; you will sign up for the one that appeals to you most.
Dates/Location: March 20-21, 2018 at the Zucker Family Graduate Education Center: Clemson University Restoration Institute — 1250 Supply Street, North Charleston, SC 29405