> That learning curve is often too steep given our secondary education system . . . we need to redesign our education system taking this objective and the preparation of our students into account.
However, I vehemently disagree with this:
> If we want to increase graduation into STEM fields . . . I place the blame squarely where it belongs: on STEM departments
No, no, no, no, no! This would be a microcosm of the very issue we're talking about.
"Graduation rate" is meaningless. We want to increase the population who are STEM-literate. Like it or not, physics is calculus-based. Thermodynamics is important. And, certainly, by the time people are adults and have gone through over a decade of education, it should be within reach.
I don't blame the STEM departments at all, and would be aghast if they started churning out STEM-lite graduates as the result of some misguided new policy to increase graduation rates.