Transforming the Gateway Course Experience

Book excerpt: Serving as a call to action for educators to recognize and address inequities in gateway courses, this book offers an evidence-based model for improving teaching, learning, and student success within the foundational college classroom. Gateway courses often reflect broader societal, cultural, and economic issues; this book argues that inequitable outcomes result from specific practices and policies, rather than occurring naturally. Using data and examples from his work with various colleges and universities, Andrew K. Koch highlights the systemic issues that perpetuate inequality in higher education. He examines how and why race and class divisions are reinforced through current practice and the impact that these courses have on students' sense of belonging. By giving suggestions for policy changes on how to combat high failure rates and challenging myths such as grade inflation and curve grading, this text seeks to critique and ultimately dismantle the toxic culture of "weeding out" students. This accessible book is for any college instructor who wants to transform gateway courses into true opportunities for student success, ultimately advancing higher education's broader equity and social justice goals.