Zoe Berg, Photo Editor

Online Experiences for Yale Scholars — an online summer math program for incoming first-year students — is now accepting applications for undergraduate math coaches for the coming summer. 

Now in its ninth year, ONEXYS is a free online summer experience for incoming first years which solidifies foundational quantitative skills for Yale courses and provides mentorship from older students to smoothen the transition to college. The program has run from mid-June to early August each year since 2014. 

The program was originally conceived and developed by Jim Rolf, now at the University of Virginia. In late 2013, University President Peter Salovey joined an initiative with several other colleges and universities, committing to increasing the number of STEM college graduates. Through this initiative, ONEXYS arose as a solution to a key issue: students coming to Yale from under-resourced schools, or who experienced disruptions in their education, were at risk of having gaps in their math preparation. 

“What is the impact? I can tell you that every year we see strong learning gains from pre- and post-test … We also see a huge, in certain areas, a big change in their feelings about preparedness for Yale, and even excitement for Yale,” John Hall, senior lecturer in mathematics and director of the ONEXYS program since 2019, explained. 

The ONEXYS program grew quickly from its initial cohort of 19 students, approximately doubling in participants each year until it reached a steady level of about 150 students per summer. Over the course of eight summers, the program has helped 905 students in total prepare their math skills, receive mentorship and form relationships with peers before coming to Yale. About 30-35 undergraduate coaches participate in the program each summer.

The program has been held online since its inception. The online format is meant to increase accessibility and allow Yale to channel resources to those who need it most, said Hall.

“We can reach a lot more students because we don’t bring them to campus, so it’s easier for people to participate,” Hall explained. “The cost is much lower, and so that’s why we can reach as many people as we do.” 

Part of maximizing the program’s impact is that participation in the program is by invitation only. Students with the greatest need for the program are identified by the admissions office based on a combination of standardized test scores, measures of the student’s high school and experiences in past math classes, Hall said.

Once incoming students accept the invitation to participate in ONEXYS, they take a math placement test as well as a survey assessing their background and interests. This information is used to place them on one of three paths that focus on different areas of content. It is also used to form teams of about five students and a coach who share common interests. 

The teams meet regularly throughout the six weeks of the program to discuss weekly modules on math topics. The online modules teach math lessons and also include an “application” portion in which mathematical concepts are applied to subjects ranging from economics to chemistry to biology. Students learn and practice these concepts through a variety of videos, problem sets, quizzes and other activities. 

Beyond the mathematical curriculum, mentorship is a central component of the program as well. Students can meet with their student coaches one-on-one for help with material or for a conversation about anything students may be wondering about. 

Other resources include videos on various aspects of life at Yale and information sessions hosted by coaches and faculty. This became especially important during the pandemic, when students faced additional challenges in transitioning to college. 

“[In fall 2020], they changed the registration process totally, and they had some kind of pre-registration, but there was no connection to advisers,” Hall said, referring to the University’s shift in its course registration process. “So students had to do this pre-registration with no advising. And so coaches set up this whole network to help students.”

Taylor Russ ’24, who participated in the program in summer of 2020 and returned as a coach the following summer, said that during her time as an ONEXYS student, her coach often had trouble explaining what a pandemic campus would look like. Russ also experienced similar challenges as a coach the following year, as the remote setting of her first year prevented her from becoming familiar with the physical campus. 

But even with the pandemic challenges, Russ noted that she still remains close with people she met through ONEXYS, and she plans to return to coach in the future.

“Because COVID isn’t as rampant as before … me, my coach, and the three other people in my group are all getting dinner together,” said Madison Sirota ’24, another summer 2020 participant who served as a coach and plans to return. “We always had talked about wanting to hang out on campus, but unfortunately COVID kind of didn’t allow that to happen.”

To assess ONEXYS’s impact, students take a post-test and post-survey at the end of the program. This provides a gauge of both learning gains as well as changes in student attitudes, for example their feelings of preparedness going into Yale. 

Engagement with the program has been high — over 90 percent of students who begin the program each year complete it. 

“I think it’s incredible given that there’s no credit involved,” Hall said. “It’s not a requirement that students participate, and people have all kinds of things that come up in the summer that might cause them to not finish, so it’s been really impressive how they do.”

Sirota credited the high level of engagement to the social aspect of ONEXYS. 

“I definitely think it has 95 percent to do with the fact that you’re meeting friends, and also your coach is already a student at Yale, and they can already provide so much insight,” Sirota said. “It’s just really nice because you’ve already built somewhat of a community before even coming to Yale.”

Students interested in being an ONEXYS coach should submit an application by March 18. Interviews begin after spring break, the week of April 12.