Implementing and studying a peer learning program to increase student success in calculus and statistics across two- and four-year institutions

The National Science Foundation's Division of Undergraduate Education awarded $499,925 to Sacramento State Sponsored Research (University Enterprises, Inc.) on January 1, 2026, under the STEM Education program (CFDA 47.076) to implement and evaluate a Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) program across two-year and four-year institutions. The project, funded through the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions program, will deploy a modified peer-led team learning concurrent model in Calculus 1 and 2 courses at Cosumnes River College and in a transfer-landing statistics course at California State University, Sacramento. The initiative responds to California Assembly Bill 1705, which has altered prerequisite requirements for calculus courses, creating an opportunity to test whether PAL effectively supports this policy reform while addressing high failure rates and improving student outcomes.

The project will deliver concurrent PAL courses, faculty and student professional development programming, and enhanced transfer student resources across the three targeted mathematics and statistics courses. Key deliverables include the creation and administration of new concurrent courses, comprehensive student support services, and rigorous evaluation through statistical analysis of student performance and retention data as well as surveys measuring student belonging and sense of community. A subaward totaling funds from the prime award was issued on January 6, 2026, to the LOS Rios Community College District (operating as Cosumnes River College) to implement the PAL program at the community college level. The project is scheduled for completion by December 31, 2028, with results to be analyzed and disseminated regarding the effectiveness of peer-assisted learning in reducing failure rates and improving retention in high-need STEM courses.

Abstract

With support from the improving undergraduate stem education: hispanic-serving institutions (HSI program), this enriching learning, programs, and student experiences, level 1 project aims to initiate and test peer assisted learning, a successful modified peer-led team learning concurrent model, in two new settings to enhance the quality of stem education, decrease fail rates and improve grades, retention, and feelings of belonging. The first setting is in calculus 1 and 2 courses at a california community college where the recent state assembly bill 1705 is altering prerequisite requirements for this course sequence. As california two-year institutions explore new forms of concurrent student support in this changing landscape, this project will help determine whether peer assisted learning is an effective intervention to support this policy reform. The second setting is in a statistics course at a four-year university with high transfer-enrollment, where implementing peer assisted learning seeks to increase success of students immediately post-transfer. Overall, this project aims to improve grades and retention in two settings where students tend to abandon stem degrees. Moreover, IT will provide knowledge on the effectiveness of the proven peer assisted learning model in high-fail courses. This project aims to test peer assisted learning in three key mathematics and statistics courses to reduce fail rates and improve grades, retention and feelings of belonging. IT will create and administer new concurrent courses, faculty and student professional development, and added transfer student resources. Student performance and retention will be analyzed using statistical methods and surveys will be administered to examine belongingness. Data on students who participate in a concurrent peer assisted learning course will be compared with those who do not, and subsets of post-transfer students and students influenced by assembly bill 1705 will be studied. Knowledge generated from this project will be disseminated to the broader research community, as well as to other community colleges and public, four-year universities impacted by this or similar legislation. This project will support ~300 calculus students and ~180 transfer students to enhance key points of the transfer stem pathway. Faculty professional development will train seven faculty at each campus (14 total). Student facilitators will be trained to lead 32 courses over three years. This project is funded by the HSI program, which aims to enhance undergraduate stem education and increase capacity to engage in the development and implementation of innovations to improve stem teaching and learning at hsis. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.- subawards are planned for this award.