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Release Date: 
Friday, July 30, 2021

New MI-PAT initiative helps students succeed through math

An image of the MCAN logo.

HFC and Crestwood High School in Dearborn Heights have recently joined the Michigan Partnership for Academic Transitions (MI-PAT) initiative.

MI-PAT is a multi-year collaboration between the Michigan College Access Network, the Michigan Center for Student Success, and the Michigan Community College Association. The Kresge Foundation, a private philanthropic organization headquartered in Troy, is funding this collaboration.

MI-PAT leverages the creative energies of colleges such as HFC and high schools to increase the number of first-year community college students who complete a gateway (credit-bearing, transferable) math course. These organizations and educational institutions have joined together to remove barriers to student success and improve racial equity in education.

College Remedial Coursework report

The State of Michigan’s College Remedial Coursework report reveals that of the 2018-19 high school graduates enrolled in a community college:

  • 15.1 percent of Caucasian students were enrolled in remedial coursework
  • 31 percent of African-American students were enrolled in remedial coursework
  • 26.4 percent of Hispanic/Latino students were enrolled in remedial coursework

Only 18 percent of students enrolled in remedial classes will complete their associate degree within three years.

We need to do better, and we can do better.

Redesigning developmental education

To address these issues, MI-PAT connects community colleges with high schools in their region to form learning teams that commit to redesigning developmental education and improving academic transitions. To support their efforts, the teams receive grant funding, broad design parameters, and access to technical assistance and national experts.

As the leader in the state’s college access movement, MCAN exists to increase Michigan’s college readiness, participation, and completion rates, particularly among low-income students, first-generation college-going students, and students of color. MCAN’s goal is to increase Michigan’s postsecondary educational attainment rate from 45.5 percent to 60 percent by 2030 in line with the state’s Sixtyby30 initiative.

“The HFC math department is excited to collaborate with the Crestwood School District to develop curriculum that will prepare students for college-level math at HFC or any other institution of higher learning. Approximately 90 students from Crestwood transferred to HFC in Fall 2020 and we hope to make the transition smooth for even more students in the future,” said Janice Gilliland, Dean of the HFC School of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).

For more information about HFC’s involvement with MI-PAT, contact Gilliland at jlgilliland@hfcc.edu.