The University of Southern Mississippi (USM)
Higher Student Retention and Stronger Outcomes Through Quality Teaching
In 2016, The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) began an institution-wide commitment to its faculty, evidence-based teaching, and student success by launching the ACUE Faculty Development Institute. From the start, USM and ACUE worked closely to lead high-quality, large-scale research to evaluate student impact.
Today, more than 200 faculty have participated across USM and—with 1 out of every 4 full-time faculty ACUE-certified—the university is on track to ensure every student benefits from high-quality, evidence-based instruction in every class.
Stronger Achievement in First-Year Gateway Courses
First-year students see increased performance when taking gateway courses with ACUE instructors.
- 6.4% pt increase in passing rates
- 5.3% pt decrease in DFW rate
- Impact on DFW rates was 6% pt larger for Black students relative to White students
Sustained Improvement
Students who complete a gateway course with an ACUE instructor perform better in their subsequent courses in the discipline.
3% pt lower DFW rates
Higher GPAs by .06 points (on a 4.0 scale)
More Academic Success Overall
When students complete more courses taught by ACUE instructors, they perform better across all of their courses.
- Impact is greater for passing and success among Black students and when isolating courses students took with non-ACUE/pre-ACUE instructors.
