Florida International University

Florida International University’s transformation process focused on high failure, high enrollment gateway courses. The transformation team was able to successfully align and embed their transformation efforts into campus-wide initiatives and the strategic plan. Through sharing values both within the TPG project and on campus, the team has been able to transform the teaching culture and overall system of support to improve student success.

Transformation Highlights:

Teaching & Learning:

Florida International University’s (FIU) University Transformation through Teaching (UT3) is a comprehensive multi-year plan to fundamentally reform pedagogy at the university in line with best practices in college teaching, particularly in gateway undergraduate courses that affect student success as measured by retention and on-time graduation. The transformational planning work included the deployment predictive analytics to re-design 17 high enrollment, high failure, high impact gateway courses in STEM, composition, social and behavioral sciences and humanities.

Course re-design has been supported through FIU’s Center for the Advancement of Teaching and the through the integration of peer learning assistants, which allows undergraduate students to engage in live teaching experiences and help transform courses into more interactive and collaborative environments for faculty and students.

Academic Pathways:

FIU’s Graduate Success Initiative (GSI), the university is supporting a set of innovations to help students identify an appropriate major early, preferably at admission; provide a clear path to on-time graduation in that major; provide immediate feedback whether on or off the path; and remove barriers and add supports in this path.

In support of this transformative work, FIU developed more interactive degree and career matching resources as well as established a set of six exploratory (meta) majors, in which students are exposed to general fields of interest and learn relevant skill sets and potential career paths.

A more detailed overview of FIU’s transformational work may be accessed here.