Assistant Professor University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, Minnesota, United States
Disclosure(s):
Emily Nestor Truckenbrod, DVM, PHD: No financial relationships to disclose
Introduction/Rationale: The veterinary curriculum is challenging, and individual students sometimes need additional opportunities to assimilate content. Accordingly, we developed and implemented a structured remediation process, called Upgrade, for veterinary immunology to support student learning by promoting content mastery, encouraging self-reflective learning strategies, and mitigating academic stress. This formal remediation process occurs during the semester and provides a structure for students to further engage with the content and have a second chance to demonstrate mastery.
Methods: Students are eligible any time they score below 70% on an exam; there are three exams, and students must achieve an overall grade ≥ 70% to pass the course. The remediation process has two levels depending on the student’s exam score: 1) students scoring 60–69.99% complete annotations of incorrect exam questions, and 2) students scoring < 60% complete exam annotations, meet individually with the course coordinator, and take an online exam on content specific to the unit. Students who successfully complete the process have their exam score amended to a 70% (or the higher of the two exam scores, if they take the online exam but score < 70%). This process was implemented in Spring 2025, and students were surveyed at the end of the academic year.
Results: Students who remediated an exam found the process to be helpful, not only for raising their grades but also for enhancing their learning. Most survey respondents did not need to remediate an exam but still perceived benefits from knowing the option was available, describing lower stress levels and a more conducive learning environment as positive aspects.
Conclusion: Incorporation of this structured remediation process into a veterinary immunology course promoted student learning, facilitated communication with struggling students, and contributed to a positive learning environment.
