Examining Corequisite Reforms Across CUNY Colleges

January 2023–December 2024

Studies from CAPR and other researchers suggest that many students can be successful when granted immediate access to college-level coursework through reformed assessment and placement practices or corequisite supports. But best practices for the implementation of corequisite instruction have not been fully explored. Important questions include how different course structures, pedagogical approaches, and student supports affect student outcomes; why certain students may not be successful in corequisite courses; and what it costs to implement corequisite courses at scale. These issues are particularly salient for low-income, racially minoritized, and first-generation college students, who are disproportionately assigned to developmental education.

In this study, CAPR is partnering with the City University of New York (CUNY) to study CUNY’s system-wide shift to corequisite remediation beginning in fall 2022. The study is examining how individual campuses are implementing corequisite instruction, and how assessment, advising, course structure, pedagogy, and support services vary between campuses. It will also look at the experiences of students, staff, and instructors within a range of corequisite models and the costs associated with the transition from prerequisite remediation to fully-scaled corequisite remediation.

Project Design

The study will integrate interviews, focus groups and classroom observations.

Interviews with faculty, administrators, and staff. Researchers will begin qualitative data collection in six CUNY colleges in the spring of 2023. The first phase of data collection will focus on faculty, staff, and administrator experiences, as well as differences in models implemented across campuses.

Interviews with students and class observations. Researchers will conduct in-depth data collection at several colleges in fall 2023 and spring 2024 to explore students’ experiences in varying corequisite course structures. Data collection activities will include classroom observations, in-depth interviews, and focus groups.

Cost research. Researchers will collect cost information from six CUNY colleges at the conclusion of the first year of full-scale corequisite instruction, paying particular attention to the up-front and scaling costs for different corequisite models.

This research is funded by Ascendium Education Group.