ATLAS Reporting - Glossary for Math Course Sequence Performance and Student Outcome Dashboards
A reference for Tableau dashboards created by ATLAS Reporting Services for the Department of Mathematics in June 2018. These dashboards relate performance in selected Math courses to outcomes in the Mathematics major.
Contents
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Summary
These two Tableau dashboards relate performance in selected Math courses to ultimate outcomes of undergraduate Mathematics majors. Outcomes are classified as "optimal" or "other" depending on whether they signify success relative to the major.
What's Included
The project includes undergraduates who entered UIUC between Summer 2009 and Spring 2015, and who earned grades for at least one term while majoring in Mathematics. This includes students who declared Mathematics as a second major.
Out of these students, the report displays students who earned at least one institutional grade in any of the following courses between Summer 2009 and Spring 2018:
- CS 101
- CS 125
- MATH 115
- MATH 220
- MATH 221
- MATH 231
- MATH 241
- MATH 347
- MATH 416
- MATH 417
- MATH 441
- MATH 444
- MATH 446
- MATH 448
- STAT 400
This excludes grades of AU (audit), PS (test-based credit), and W (withdrawal). It includes grades which were subsequently replaced, although the dashboards can filter those out if desired.
Student outcomes are shown through Spring 2018.
For student-level measures such as "Outcome" and "Final Indicator A", each student is counted once.
For measures at the term level or course/grade-point level, each student is counted for each value which applies to them. For example, a student who earned a C- in MATH 241 and then retook it to earn a B will appear twice in the Grade Points vs. Student Outcome chart for MATH 241. (Note -- if replaced grades are excluded, only the student's B grade would appear).
Similarly, a student who took MATH 241 in their second Fall term and then retook it at a later term will appear twice in the Term Course Taken by Admit Student Type chart.
Note about the Term Course Taken by Admit Student Type chart: "% of Admit Type" is computed thus:
- Numerator = each term each student attempted the given course;
- Denominator = the count of unique students who took the course.
This can make the total percentages add up to slightly more than 100% when students attempted the course multiple times over multiple terms.
Course Sequence Performance and Student Outcome
Choose "Course 1" to view performance and outcomes of students who took that course, and summaries of how they did in subsequent Math courses.
Student Type, Performance, and Term Courses Taken vs. Outcome
View student summaries over all relevant Math courses taken.
Definitions
Cohort
Each cohort includes students who entered UIUC in degree-seeking programs in a contiguous Summer, Fall, and Spring. For example, cohort 2009-10 includes students who started Summer 2009, Fall 2009, and Spring 2010.
Does not include returning and readmitted students.
Course
The dashboards include attempts in the following courses, if the attempts resulted in grades aside from AU, PS or W:
- CS 101
- CS 125
- MATH 115
- MATH 220
- MATH 221
- MATH 231
- MATH 241
- MATH 347
- MATH 416
- MATH 417
- MATH 441
- MATH 444
- MATH 446
- MATH 448
- STAT 400
Crosslists such as MATH 463 are rolled into their controlling courses (such as STAT 400 in this case).
Course Sequence
The Course Sequence Performance dashboard considers any two courses in the above set a "sequence" if they are attempted in different terms. Thus, if "Course 1" is set to MATH 241, the Course 2 Grade Points vs. Student Outcome chart shows "Course 2" as any course attempted after a given MATH 241 session. (Note: this can include subsequent attempts of MATH 241 itself).
That said, the Course 2 Grade Points vs. Student Outcome chart can restrict the number of terms between course 1 and course 2. This allows focusing on courses taken in consecutive terms. See "Fall/Spring Term Number" below for more information.
Course Grade Points
For grades which apply toward a student's GPA, "points" are just the quality points associated with the given letter grade: A = 4.0, A- = 3.67, and so on.
Grades which do not apply toward GPA, such as CR and NC, are mapped to the grade-point scheme as follows:
- Passing grades = 2.0
- Non-passing grades = 0.0
Note: the dataset contains no deferred/incomplete grades (DFR/I), non-received grades (NR), non-valid grades (NV), etc.
Course Grade Replacement
Indicates whether the grade from one course attempt was replaced by the grade from a subsequent attempt. In general, replaced grades are excluded from earned hours -- but not always from GPAs.
For replaced grades which are still included in student GPAs, this report factors them into its "Indicator A" calculations.
Admit Student Type
The Admit Type is "New Freshman" for students who entered UIUC as first-time Freshmen.
Other students are classified according to the admission type associated with their primary curricula: "Transfer Sophomore", "Transfer Junior", etc.
Fall/Spring Term Number
The report includes terms with grades between each student's first degree-seeking undergraduate term and their last (or until graduation). Each student's fall/spring terms are numbered sequentially, with no gaps for terms in which a student did not enroll. That is, students are not penalized for stopping out.
Summer and winter terms are mapped to the nearest prior fall/spring term in which the student earned grades. For example, the winter after a new student's first fall term is included in "Fall/Spring Term" 1.
New summer students have their summers logged as "Fall/Spring Term" 0.
Final Indicator A
"Indicator A" is a custom measure calculated from institutional grades in the following courses:
- MATH 231
- MATH 241
- MATH 347
- MATH 416
- MATH 417
- MATH 444
It only includes grades which apply toward GPA. This excludes credit/no-credit grades and most replaced grades.
"Final Indicator A" is shown as of the final degree-seeking UIUC term in which a student earned grades.
Student Outcome: "Optimal" vs. "Other"
Student outcomes are classified as optimal when they meet the following conditions:
- The student has not been academically dropped without returning to Math at UIUC, plus
- any of the following three conditions:
- the current Math Major GPA is 2.5 or higher;
- the final Indicator A is 2.5 or higher;
- the student switched from Math into one of the following programs:
- Accountancy
- Actuarial Science
- Aerospace Engineering
- Applied Mathematics
- Biochemistry
- Chemical Engineering
- Chemistry
- Civil Engineering
- Computer Engineering
- Computer Sci & Linguistics
- Computer Science
- Electrical & Computer Engr
- Electrical Engineering
- Engineering Mechanics
- Engineering Physics
- Environ Engr in Civil Engr
- Finance
- Financial Engineering
- Industrial Engineering
- Information Sys & Info Tech
- Integrative Biology
- Materials Science & Engr
- Math & Computer Science
- Mechanical Engineering
- Molecular and Cellular Biology
- Nuclear, Plasma, Radiolgc Engr
- Physics
- Statistics
- Statistics & Computer Science
- Supply Chain Management
Other outcomes are classified as "Other".
Student Outcome Details
- 1 - Graduated in Major: students who earned Mathematics degrees.
- 2 - Enrolled in Major: students enrolled in Mathematics for Spring 2018.
- 3 - Dropped in Major: Math students who were dropped academically and who did not reenter Math at UIUC.
- 4 - Switched to Optimal Major: students who left Math for one of the "optimal" programs listed above.
- 5 - Switched to Other Major: students who left Math for a program other than those in the "optimal" list.
- 6 - Not Enrolled: Math students not enrolled as of Spring 2018 who have not graduated, changed majors, or been academically dropped.