Weber State University   

Mathematics

Results of Assessment

2002-2003 (submitted 10/20/03)

Outcomes Assessment Data

The Department of Mathematics has some data on the survey that was in last year’s report. The data shows that the department is generally doing a good job in preparing students for the future. Success in placement in graduate school and jobs has so far been 100%. The students generally feel the faculty is good, but a few problems have arisen that are being dealt with. There is still not much data though, so these findings are preliminary.

The state has decided not to have assessment done this year. This could be done again in the future and we will participate whenever we need to.

Some data have been gathered in this area and some preliminary conclusions have been made. The findings follow.

• An experiment was tried to increase student attendance using email. Attendance was up in the sections where this was tried, but student achievement was not greater in these sections.
• Students in a pre-algebra course were required to do homework on a computer. Students claimed this helped them, but the scores on the exams were not better for these students than in other sections.
• Literature in the field has been studied, and it seems the problems we have are very common, and there has been no one thing tried that has helped student achievement universally. Some things tend to help a bit.

There are more experiments going on in the department. Some sections still have extra mandatory labs for students. We are trying a couple of large section pre-algebra courses. Data will continue to be taken and analyzed.

Starting in the Fall of 2003, a room on the second floor of Building 4 is being used as a gathering place for students of all levels, but especially geared towards developmental students. This was originally called the "Math Auxiliary" but has now been changed to "The Solution Space." Helpers (tutors, etc.) have been hired and faculty have committed themselves to hold some office hours in there. Data is being collected and will be analyzed and adjustments made.

The state is still thinking about possible changes to requirements for mathematics teachers. We are in contact with the state and we will have some input, but until they act, there is nothing we can do.

During October of 2002, we had a program review that included some suggestions for improvement. The following details the problems, strengths, and suggestions to the department.

Problems Areas and Challenges

The review team sees the following as problem areas and challenges:

• The low number of majors is causing problems. A corollary problem here is that some of the upper division courses are being offered as reading courses. This not only is not the best way to offer instruction, but it also places an added burden on faculty members. Furthermore, the low number of majors makes it harder to justify the recruitment and retention of PhD faculty with the upper administration.
• There are too many teaching adjuncts. Efforts should be made to reduce this number. When it is necessary to hire adjuncts, the goal should be to require adjuncts to hold a master’s degree in mathematics.
• Getting students through the QL requirement, given the math abilities of the incoming students, presents a serious challenge.
• A few of the offerings in Math 1010 are in large sections (125 students or more). These should be avoided if at all possible, the goal being to limit all sections to no more than 40 to 50 students.

Commendations

The review team believes the Department deserves commendation in the following areas:

• The Department appears to be addressing the problems in developmental math.
• Some faculty are managing to keep active research programs going, even though teaching is the main focus of the Department.
• There seems to be a collegial atmosphere in the Department, indicating that problems which existed at one point have largely been solved. The chair appears to be providing steady leadership.
• The Department is making a serious effort to appropriately manage and supervise the teaching of adjuncts.
• The teaching in the Department seems to be high quality. Faculty are very available to students. These impressions were reinforced in the visits with students.
• The degree offerings look solid.
• The service offerings to prospective elementary math teachers are more than are usually available.
• The regular faculty members in the Department appear to be holding firm on grading standards. However, there do appear to be significant differences between the standards applied by the regular faculty and those applied by adjuncts. This is evident in data provided by the department chair on the average GPA in the different sections of Math 1050 and Math 1210 taught in fall semester of 2001 and spring semester of 2002. In Math 1050 the class GPAs in sections taught by regular faculty average about 2.1 (and that included a 2.96 average in a special Bridging the Gap section taught to in-service teachers). Meanwhile, the average GPA in sections taught by adjuncts was around 2.6. In addition, there were several sections taught by adjuncts where the GPA was around 3.0 (and that is probably higher than should occur in sections of Math 1050). The average GPAs in sections of 1210, all taught by regular faculty and excluding a special section taught in the Bridging the Gap program, was about 2.2.

Recommendations

In addition to suggestions sprinkled in the above discussions, the review team makes the following recommendations:

• The Department should pursue avenues for increasing the number of majors. Some possibilities might be to follow through on previously discussed ideas for a program in computational mathematics, or to develop a joint major either with Computer Science or with Information Systems and Technology, or maybe with both. (Here, it is the opinion of the review team that a joint major with another department has more potential for developing into a significant asset that does the computational math major.) In the secondary teaching program, perhaps a joint program in mathematics and statistics might attract students.
• Some space has recently become available for a math lab. The Department should follow through on this with the goal of providing a facility that could support instruction on all levels, including developmental mathematics.
• The Department is at a critical juncture in hiring. Over the next five to ten years, there are going to be several retirements of PhD faculty. If these faculty are replaced with non-PhD faculty, it will undoubtedly have a detrimental effect on both the scholarship opportunities in the Department and the ability of the Department to offer bona fide programs in the major emphases.

The Mathematics Department is learning from this program review and will work to incorporate the recommendations where we can.

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