Beginning in 2021, UIA convened member campuses around two interrelated initiatives: Scaling Academic Recovery and Scaling Faculty-Led Innovation.
Scaling Academic Recovery
Academic Recovery is a dynamic, student-centered strategy that re-engages students after course failure while delivering measurable academic and financial returns for institutions. Developed and tested across 11 large public research universities, the UIA Academic Recovery model targets students who previously earned a D, F, or W in high-enrollment gateway courses that disproportionately block degree progression for low-income students, students of color, and first-generation students.
Across two academic years, participating campuses served more than 1,400 students across 100+ courses. On average, students in Academic Recovery outperformed peers by 17% in retake pass rates, demonstrated higher term-to-term retention, and in several cases generated net-positive institutional revenue through improved persistence.
The Scaling Academic Recovery playbook is designed to support institutions in designing, implementing, and scaling effective Academic Recovery initiatives.
Scaling Faculty-Led Innovation
The Scaling Faculty-Led Innovation project was designed to strengthen institutional capacity for faculty-led teaching and learning redesign in high-impact and gateway courses.
Faculty tested evidence-informed approaches such as active learning, mastery-based pacing, clearer course structures, and targeted use of digital tools to reduce DFW rates in gateway STEM courses. Early descriptive signals across redesigned courses included improved pass patterns in multiple sections, reduced D/F trends in key courses, stronger engagement, and greater clarity and confidence reported by students and faculty.
Designed with faculty, academic leaders, and student success practitioners in mind, the Scaling Faculty-Led Innovation playbook aims to help institutions create the conditions for scalable, faculty-led innovation in teaching and learning to ensure student success. By providing a practical framework and actionable strategies, it addresses the common structural, cultural, and procedural barriers that often limit innovation on campus.
Self-Paced Modules in The Lab for Faculty & Academic Leaders
Leveraging learnings from both initiatives, these self-paced eLearning modules are designed for Faculty & Academic Leaders seeking more information about high DFW courses and ready to explore research-based faculty-led learning innovation models. By the end of these learning modules, Faculty & Academic Leaders will possess the foundational knowledge and frameworks needed to begin the work to improve and sustain student success in high DFW courses.
Acknowledgements
These resources were developed in collaboration with UIA Campuses. We are grateful for the contributions of the following member institutions.
Scaling Academic Recovery Participating Institutions
- Arizona State University
- Georgia State University
- North Carolina A&T State University
- Oregon State University
- University of California, Riverside
- University of Central Florida
- University of Illinois Chicago
- University of Colorado Denver
- University of Utah
- Virginia Commonwealth University
Scaling Faculty-Led Innovation Participating Institutions
- Arizona State University
- Iowa State University
- Michigan State University
- North Carolina A&T State University
- Purdue University
- University at Buffalo
- University of California, Riverside
- University of Colorado Denver*
- University of Illinois Chicago
- University of Maryland, Baltimore County
- University of Massachusetts Amherst
- University of New Mexico
- University of Utah
- Virginia Commonwealth University
*Participated in project focus groups