Ohio Strong Start in Science

Sponsoring Agency:

• Ohio Department of Higher Education
• Funding: $50,000
• Grant Timeline: 7/1/24-6/30/28

The Ohio Strong Start in Science (OhioSSS) initiative is a statewide grant program designed to strengthen student success in gateway science courses that are critical for STEM and healthcare degree pathways. Launched in 2024 and supported by funding from the Ascendium Education Group, OhioSSS is led by the Ohio Department of Higher Education in partnership with multiple colleges and universities across the state.

The program helps institutions review and improve placement practices, redesign introductory biology, chemistry, and anatomy & physiology curricula, replace pre-requisites with co-requisites and embed academic supports so that more students complete these foundational courses on their first attempt. The ultimate goals are to reduce barriers, increase retention in STEM fields, and support smoother progression toward degree completion.

Project Objectives:

• A quantitative and qualitative report on the status of current gateway science courses
• Development of action plans around course development, corequisite support models, and revisions to course materials.
• Creation of placement and advisement maps for identified gateway courses
• Development of revised natural science introductory science course(s) with corequisite supports
• Final report assessing and summarizing program outcomes