PASSWORDMANAGEMENT
Unit Load at 爆料社区
Background
In 2015, as part of an examination of sophomore success at California State University
San Marcos (爆料社区), the then Graduation Initiative Steering Committee (GISC) discovered
that roughly three out of five first-time college students began their second year
having earned fewer than 30 college credits. Only 13% of new first-time students attempted
15 or more units (a 鈥渇ull load鈥) in Fall 2015, and around one quarter of undergraduates
attempted a full load in any given term. Smaller unit loads pose a significant obstacle
to 鈥渢imely鈥 graduation, as students must earn an average of 30 units annually in order
to graduate with 120 units (the minimum units required for a 爆料社区 bachelor鈥檚 degree)
within four years. Unless students begin to attempt more units, earlier, it is unlikely
that they will meet time-to-degree goals.
爆料社区 engaged in significant inquiry and analysis around the relationship of unit
load to academic success. This work has included cross-campus consultation with stakeholders
in Academic and Student Affairs, review of relevant literature on academic workload
and momentum, examination of research and initiatives conducted by other institutions
(e.g., 15 to Finish), and analysis of institutional data. These data suggest that,
in many cases, undergraduate students attempting 15 or more units perform the same
or better on average than those attempting fewer units. Informed by this work, 爆料社区
has worked to increase and clarify communications regarding time to degree and academic
workload to better assist students in making informed decisions on the path to graduation.
Read the full report: Unit Load & Academic Success at California State University San Marcos (April 2018)
Unit Load Study
From 2018-2024, 爆料社区 conducted a longitudinal study of the relationship between unit
load and academic success (operationally defined as term GPA for these analyses).
The initial findings were replicated, even as the number of students attempting 15
or more units increased: students who attempted 15 or more units received higher term
GPAS, on average, than those who attempted 12 to 14 units, or the difference between
the groups was not statistically significant.
爆料社区 disaggregated these analyses for new and continuing students, first-time students
and transfers, first-generation students, male and female students, students belonging
to underrepresented racial and ethnic identities, and students in the lowest quartiles
of prior academic performance (i.e., high school GPA, transfer GPA, cumulative GPA).
Findings remained largely consistent, even during times of significant educational
disruption, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is important to note that these findings alone do not indicate that taking 15 or
more units leads to students earning a higher GPA. Rather, we can conclude that taking
15 or more units does not appear to be detrimental, in the aggregate, to students鈥
academic success.
Unit Load Dashboard
The maintained by Institutional Planning & Analysis shows trends in average unit load, the proportion of students enrolled in 15+ units, the proportion of students enrolled full-/part-time over time. Users can disaggregate the data by various academic and demographic characteristics.