In this issue
Exploring Student Success Course Outcomes Data - Undergraduate DFW Rate Trends
- What are recent trends in DFW grades amongst undergraduate student groups?
- Where can you find additional data on DFW grades and other course outcomes data?
One indicator of student success and an important metric for exploring equity gaps at the course level is the number and percentage of students who receive DFW grades in courses. DFW is an acronym used when grouping the counts or percentages of students who received grades of D+, D, D-, F, I, IC, NC, W, or WU for a given course. As part of the Graduation Initiative 2025 Equity Goals & Priorities, the California State University identified reducing DFW rates as a top priority.
Following Cal State Monterey Bay’s inaugural Student Success Retreat on May 22, 2024, where these data were presented to the campus community, this issue of IAR Insights highlights the most recent trends in DFW rates over the prior five academic years for which grading was completed. With a focus on various undergraduate student groups, these data illustrate potential equity gaps in course outcomes that may inform our campus student success initiatives.
What are recent trends in DFW grades amongst undergraduate student groups?
Academic Level
- Freshman and Sophomore DFW rates have trended higher than Junior and Senior rates
- A notable increase in DFW rates for Freshman occurred from 2019 through 2020 (coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic); while the DFW rates for Freshman have leveled off in recent years, they have not returned to their pre-pandemic levels
Academic Level at Start of Term Metric 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Freshman Students with DFW Percentage 12.4% 13.5% 21.8% 20.8% 19.9% Freshman Students with DFW Count 1,278 1,539 1,971 1,919 1,944 Freshman Students Graded 10,274 11,367 9,057 9,218 9,750 Freshman Class Count 1,051 1,142 757 939 898 Sophomore Students with DFW Percentage 9.9% 12.3% 14.3% 15.9% 14.8% Sophomore Students with DFW Count 736 1,057 1,186 1,164 1,056 Sophomore Students Graded 7,432 8,621 8,307 7,312 7,130 Sophomore Class Count 1,280 1,398 1,313 1,349 1,330 Junior Students with DFW Percentage 9.1% 8.6% 11.9% 12.8% 11.2% Junior Students with DFW Count 1,491 1,561 2,212 2,426 1,809 Junior Students Graded 16,383 18,178 18,622 18,886 16,169 Junior Class Count 1,805 2,023 1,828 1,955 1,900 Senior Students with DFW Percentage 6.6% 6.7% 7.6% 7.9% 7.3% Senior Students with DFW Count 1,521 1,569 1,781 1,860 1,694 Senior Students Graded 23,201 23,459 23,295 23,489 23,100 Senior Class Count 2,021 2,245 2,117 2,319 2,302
Admission Basis Group
- First-Time Freshmen DFW rates have consistently trended higher than Upper Division Transfer rates
- The gap between First-Time Freshmen and Upper Division Transfer DFW rates has grown in recent years
Admission Basis Group Metric 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 First-Time Freshmen Students with DFW Percentage 9.8%
10.7%
13.9%
15.1%
14.5%
First-Time Freshmen Students with DFW Count 3,057
3,523
4,374
4,568
4,261
First-Time Freshmen Students Graded 31,083
32,874
31,578
30,163
29,370
First-Time Freshmen Class Count 2,115
2,359
2,162
2,339
2,359
Upper Division Transfer Students with DFW Percentage 7.5%
7.3%
10.0%
9.7%
8.2%
Upper Division Transfer Students with DFW Count 1,788
1,939
2,657
2,660
2,102
Upper Division Transfer Students Graded 23,899
26,597
26,696
27,345
25,620
Upper Division Transfer Class Count 1,983
2,224
2,077
2,306
2,231
Region
- Central and Southern California DFW rates have trended higher than other regions in recent years
- Other Countries DFW rates have had a more variable trend, but this is a relatively small group compared to other regions
Region Metric 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Central California Students with DFW Percentage 8.7%
8.8%
12.9%
14.0%
12.7%
Central California Students with DFW Count 925
1,041
1,476
1,577
1,435
Central California Students Graded 10,615
11,887
11,480
11,231
11,265
Central California Class Count 2,048
2,281
2,117
2,257
2,200
Northern California Students with DFW Percentage 8.1%
7.9%
10.4%
11.3%
11.4%
Northern California Students with DFW Count 821
878
1,097
1,187
1,181
Northern California Students Graded 10,109
11,054
10,532
10,467
10,348
Northern California Class Count 2,032
2,235
2,090
2,185
2,135
Other Countries Students with DFW Percentage 10.0%
14.5%
16.7%
9.2%
10.3%
Other Countries Students with DFW Count 192
284
168
129
139
Other Countries Students Graded 1,913
1,953
1,003
1,401
1,347
Other Countries Class Count 902
1,016
635
794
711
Other States Students with DFW Percentage 8.3%
10.3%
10.8%
11.1%
9.8%
Other States Students with DFW Count 91
115
99
100
79
Other States Students Graded 1,097
1,115
919
899
808
Other States Class Count 703
738
613
639
577
Southern California Students with DFW Percentage 9.0%
9.4%
13.2%
13.6%
12.0%
Southern California Students with DFW Count 1,076
1,114
1,519
1,505
1,258
Southern California Students Graded 11,996
11,853
11,485
11,086
10,440
Southern California Class Count 2,089
2,284
2,058
2,208
2,161
Tri-County Students with DFW Percentage 8.9%
9.7%
11.7%
12.1%
11.0%
Tri-County Students with DFW Count 1,921
2,294
2,791
2,871
2,411
Tri-County Students Graded 21,559
23,762
23,842
23,808
21,871
Tri-County Class Count 2,136
2,365
2,195
2,419
2,366
CA Legal Gender
- Male DFW rates have trended higher than Female rates but have leveled off in recent years
- Female DFW rates have been increasing, narrowing the gap between the groups
Note: Nonbinary is not displayed because of small numbers.
CA Legal Gender Metric 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Female Students with DFW Percentage 7.8%
8.0%
10.8%
12.2%
11.2%
Female Students with DFW Count 2,863
3,118
4,154
4,619
3,903
Female Students Graded 36,775
38,928
38,313
37,802
34,845
Female Class Count 2,223
2,510
2,293
2,539
2,517
Male Students with DFW Percentage 10.6%
11.5%
14.3%
13.1%
12.2%
Male Students with DFW Count 2,163
2,597
2,993
2,740
2,573
Male Students Graded 20,480
22,594
20,863
20,972
21,129
Male Class Count 2,158
2,419
2,191
2,344
2,320
Underrepresented Minority
- Underrepresented Minority (African American, Latino, and Native American) DFW rates have trended higher than Non-Underrepresented Minority rates, and the gap has increased in recent years
Underrepresented Minority Description Metric 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Non-Underrepresented Minority Students with DFW Percentage 8.0%
8.4%
10.4%
10.7%
10.1%
Non-Underrepresented Minority Students with DFW Count 2,308
2,575
2,996
3,116
2,854
Non-Underrepresented Minority Students Graded 28,982
30,688
28,688
29,181
28,173
Non-Underrepresented Minority Class Count 2,226
2,495
2,272
2,475
2,420
Underrepresented Minority Students with DFW Percentage 9.6%
10.2%
13.6%
14.3%
13.0%
Underrepresented Minority Students with DFW Count 2,718
3,150
4,154
4,253
3,649
Underrepresented Minority Students Graded 28,291
30,928
30,592
29,724
27,976
Underrepresented Minority Class Count 2,155
2,461
2,230
2,453
2,441
Race / Ethnicity
- African American and Native American DFW rates have increased relative to other Race / Ethnicity groups in recent years, with a wider gap between these two groups and all others in the most recent full Academic Year (2022)
- White DFW rates have consistently been the lowest amongst all Race / Ethnicity groups across the recent Academic Years
Race / Ethnicity Metric 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 African American Students with DFW Percentage 11.6%
11.9%
15.8%
17.3%
18.7%
African American Students with DFW Count 348
335
387
370
347
African American Students Graded 3,006
2,827
2,454
2,139
1,856
African American Class Count 1,466
1,541
1,360
1,268
1,144
Asian American Students with DFW Percentage 9.4%
10.4%
11.9%
11.5%
10.7%
Asian American Students with DFW Count 411
500
572
574
525
Asian American Students Graded 4,362
4,788
4,799
4,980
4,928
Asian American Class Count 1,669
1,802
1,711
1,815
1,754
Latino Students with DFW Percentage 9.4%
10.1%
13.4%
14.1%
12.6%
Latino Students with DFW Count 2,338
2,782
3,718
3,832
3,242
Latino Students Graded 24,844
27,646
27,722
27,206
25,805
Latino Class Count 2,142
2,437
2,221
2,442
2,425
Native American Students with DFW Percentage 7.3%
7.3%
11.8%
13.5%
19.0%
Native American Students with DFW Count 32
33
49
51
60
Native American Students Graded 441
455
416
379
315
Native American Class Count 391
412
383
347
293
Other/Decline Students with DFW Percentage 9.4%
9.8%
12.1%
12.9%
10.8%
Other/Decline Students with DFW Count 696
750
852
901
658
Other/Decline Students Graded 7,375
7,626
7,027
7,011
6,068
Other/Decline Class Count 1,996
2,208
2,024
2,174
2,007
Pacific Islander Students with DFW Percentage 9.9%
10.7%
20.3%
17.5%
12.1%
Pacific Islander Students with DFW Count 58
55
88
70
42
Pacific Islander Students Graded 585
516
433
399
348
Pacific Islander Class Count 476
440
377
354
326
White Students with DFW Percentage 6.9%
7.2%
9.0%
9.4%
9.7%
White Students with DFW Count 1,143
1,270
1,484
1,571
1,629
White Students Graded 16,660
17,758
16,429
16,791
16,829
White Class Count 2,152
2,406
2,226
2,398
2,305
First Generation
- First Generation DFW rates have been a few percentage points higher than Not First Generation rates consistently
- DFW rates for both groups have increased in recent years, and the gap between the two groups has narrowed slightly
First Generation Metric 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 First Generation Students with DFW Percentage 9.1%
9.7%
12.6%
12.9%
11.8%
First Generation Students with DFW Count 2,686
3,118
3,999
3,853
3,261
First Generation Students Graded 29,393
32,031
31,768
29,980
27,675
First Generation Class Count 2,186
2,444
2,231
2,457
2,420
Not First Generation Students with DFW Percentage 8.4%
8.8%
11.5%
12.2%
11.4%
Not First Generation Students with DFW Count 2,340
2,608
3,151
3,516
3,242
Not First Generation Students Graded 27,896
29,593
27,497
28,899
28,451
Not First Generation Class Count 2,213
2,492
2,276
2,503
2,478
Received Pell Aid
- Received Pell Aid DFW rates have trended higher than Did Not Receive Pell Aid consistently, and the gap between these groups has widened in recent years
Received Pell Aid Metric 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Did Not Receive Pell Aid Students with DFW Percentage 8.0%
8.6%
11.4%
11.0%
10.2%
Did Not Receive Pell Aid Students with DFW Count 2,307
2,767
3,605
3,543
3,208
Did Not Receive Pell Aid Students Graded 28,831
32,129
31,692
32,231
31,468
Did Not Receive Pell Aid Class Count 2,216
2,498
2,282
2,522
2,471
Received Pell Aid Students with DFW Percentage 9.6%
10.0%
12.8%
14.3%
13.4%
Received Pell Aid Students with DFW Count 2,719
2,959
3,545
3,826
3,295
Received Pell Aid Students Graded 28,459
29,496
27,589
26,674
24,681
Received Pell Aid Class Count 2,183
2,437
2,227
2,444
2,440
Where can you find additional data on DFW grades and other course outcomes data?
Access IAR’s Student Success Retreat 2024 presentation on student retention and student success data.
The Grades dashboard in the Campus Data Warehouse provides more than 120 group breakdowns that can be used to explore equity gaps for different groups of students. These include:
- Academic Year / Term
- Athletics and Support Programs
- Course Academic Unit
- Course Characteristics
- Credentials
- Demographics: Applicant’s Family
- Demographics: Citizenship
- Demographics: Gender
- Demographics: Race / Ethnicity
- Demographics: Residency
- Student Academic Plan
- Student Admissions Classifications
- Student Attribute
- Student CSU Major Concentration
- Student Classifications
- Student Financial Aid
- Student Group
- Student Preparation
The Grades dashboard is available in our existing Campus Data Warehouse after completing Information Security & Privacy Rights Training and the Alternate Access Request form.
In late June 2024, our campus will begin the roll-out of our modernized Campus Data Warehouse in Amazon QuickSight. The modernized data warehouse uses Amazon Web Services cloud infrastructure, and queries will run significantly faster than in our legacy on-premises Oracle data warehouse. Look for additional information to be shared with the campus community throughout Summer 2024 and Fall 2024 as we go live.
Connect with IAR
IAR is located in Green Hall (Building 58).
Have questions about any of the analyses mentioned in this volume of IAR Insights or any of IAR’s other reports or dashboards? Register for one of our weekly Data Exploration Open Labs.
You may also contact iar@csumb.edu for help with data.