Math Pathways

Math Pathways is a University of North Carolina System initiative focused on helping institutions align students with mathematics courses that support their programs of study and academic goals. The initiative promotes effective approaches to math placement, advising, curriculum, instruction, and student support to help students succeed in gateway mathematics and statistics courses. It also encourages institutions to share promising practices that reduce barriers to degree completion and improve equitable student outcomes.

UNC System Math Pathways Task Force Chairs

Ongoing Collaboration

New Math Standards

During its October 2026 meeting, the North Carolina State Board of Education adopted the 2026 K-12 Mathematics Standard Course of Study. The approved standards reflect contributions from more than 70 educators across North Carolina, including teachers representing every grade level, school and district instructional leaders, and mathematics education faculty from the North Carolina Community College System and UNC System institutions.

The remainder of the 2026–27 academic year and the entire 2027–28 academic year will serve as the installation period for the new standards. The current K-12 Mathematics Standards will remain in effect throughout this period. During installation, the NCDPI K-12 Mathematics Team will collaborate with state, district, and school leaders; educators; school counselors; and other stakeholder groups to provide professional learning and resources to support local installation and implementation. Implementation of the newly adopted standards will begin with the start of the 2028–29 academic year.

Math for Health Sciences

The Math for Health Sciences project aims to improve outcomes for students pursuing health-related majors and careers by addressing gaps between students’ preparation, the expectations of their programs, and the connections among their math, chemistry, and health science courses. Leaders in mathematics, chemistry, and nursing developed a modular course that reinforces foundational math concepts and introduces basic statistical concepts. Campuses can adapt the course to their students’ needs by using it in full or modifying its units. The course was piloted in spring 2026, and additional pilots or adoption are under consideration.

Recommendations

The following recommendations were developed by the UNC System Math Pathways Task Force to support UNC System institutions in implementing and scaling mathematic pathways that yield increased student success and learning in gateway mathematics and statistics courses.

Recommendation #1: Design of Math Pathways

The task force recommends that each institution develop campus-specific groups of disciplinary majors (i.e., degree clusters) and create visual representations highlighting available majors and degree options that can be obtained via each pathway and the math pathway required for each of those groups of disciplinary majors.

Recommendation #2: Student Support

The task force recommends that, using disaggregated mathematics course data, individual institutions regularly review their student support programs and adjust as needed.

Recommendation #3A-B: Curriculum, Pedagogy, and Faculty Engagement

As institutions develop or refine their mathematics pathways and student support models, the task force recommends that each institution critically examines student learning outcomes, mathematics course content, and sequencing of courses to ensure that students’ mathematical experience is relevant and appropriate for their individual programs of study.

The task force recommends designing and implementing Systemwide mechanisms for identifying and disseminating impactful, promising practices on the teaching, content, and delivery of lower-level undergraduate mathematics courses, including strategies for reducing disparities in student learning, and on the training of faculty and graduate students to teach those courses.

Recommendation #4: Advising

The task force recommends that each institution critically reviews and appropriately updates advising programs (e.g., structure, policies, and processes) to ensure effective advising of students into the appropriate mathematics pathway based on students’ academic and career goals. Advising programs that have proven effective can serve as models to other institutions.

Recommendation #5: Placement

The task force recommends that each institution evaluates its current placement practices to determine effectiveness in initial math course placement. Each institution may consider different, and perhaps multiple, measures for each of its college-level mathematics courses, based on measures deemed appropriate.

Recommendation #6: K-14

The task force recommends strengthening partnerships among educational institutions in order to: analyze data that can affect seamless movement at each transition point (e.g., high school to college or community college to university); share best practices for teaching and learning; increase availability of academic supports; and increase opportunities for students in grades 9-12 to engage with academic and professional communities.

Recommendation #7: Transfer

The task force recommends that deliberate collaboration and communication be established to ensure more seamless and effective student transfer and course applicability between and among UNC System and NC Community College System institutions.

Recommendation #8: Data and Assessment

In support of data collection and all recommendations in this report, the task force recommends that the UNC System Office add mechanisms by which to identify all gateway and entry-level mathematics and statistics courses in Student Data Mart and use it regularly to analyze and provide outcomes-based information to UNC System universities.