Case Study: Mt. San Antonio College improves General Chemistry mastery and reduces DFW rates with Top Hat

Mt. San Antonio College reduces DFW rates by 21% with Top Hat

Mt. San Antonio College, a public community college, faced a challenge in providing high-quality, in-depth learning materials for its General Chemistry students, who entered the course with widely varying levels of preparedness. Professor Carrie Miller sought a solution to better serve these students and support their future academic endeavors, moving beyond the OpenStax and OER materials previously used.

The solution was an interactive General Chemistry textbook from Top Hat, which featured embedded videos, simulations, and over 1,500 practice questions. Top Hat's platform served as the foundation for a competency-based learning model and flipped classroom, allowing students multiple attempts to master material. This approach led to a significant reduction in DFW rates, from an average of 30 percent to just 9 percent in Fall 2022, with students earning more As and Bs on harder exams.

Mt. San Antonio College