First-year students performing poorly in gateway courses are at significant risk of dropping out. The University of the Pacific's data analysis indicated that students earning D or F grades, or withdrawing from classes, tend to have lower retention into their second year. The university has implemented strategic initiatives to promote student success, focusing particularly on enhancing the quality of gateway courses like economics, math, biology, physics, and chemistry, which showed higher DFW rates linked to academic preparation and instructional quality.
A 2018 study by EAB found that, on average, three in 10 students enrolled in any given course don't earn credit for it, leaving them with what are known as "unproductive credits." Among the gateway courses analyzed—Calculus 1, General Biology, Chemistry 1 and General Psychology—some universities reported an unproductive-credit rate as high as 46 percent.
First-year students who earned a D or F grade or withdrew from a class were less likely to persist into their second year, affecting the university's overall attrition rate. Students who didn't pass gateway classes like economics, math, biology, physics, or chemistry were particularly at risk of dropping out.
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