Session Abstract: Curricular Analytics is a tool for identifying structural barriers to on-time degree completion. It quantifies prerequisite chains and course dependencies into a digestible “Complexity” score; however, this is insufficient for understanding curriculum-related barriers to progress to degree. UC San Diego IR combined Curricular Analytics metrics with institutional metrics including waitlist counts, DFW rates, equity gaps, and frequency of course offering to create a new metric, “Impact Index”, which allows courses to be ranked by the impact they have on students’ progress to degree. Additionally, the methodology quantifies the average number of students who are affected by any one course, humanizing the data. Combining hypothetical metrics like complexity with real metrics allows for targeted change at the course level to improve throughput in the degree plan.
