Weber State University   

Mathematics

Results of Assessment

2004-2005 (submitted 03/16/06)

Assessment is an ongoing process in the Mathematics Department. It is carried out across the various programs and on several levels. We are monitoring how our programs are serving our majors, client schools, quantitative literacy and developmental students. The curriculum is continually evaluated to see if changes are needed.

Graduate Exit survey

A graduate exit survey was included as part of the graduation sign-off of majors. These surveys show that the department is doing a good job of preparing our majors for future success. The responses show that the faculty is generally doing a good job in the classroom. The results have been fairly consistent with student evaluations. GRE scores are also being recorded, when they are given to us.

Several of our recent graduates are in graduate school in mathematics or statistics. A few more are working as programmers/engineers in industry. Even more are now high school teachers. Our teaching program was changed a couple of years ago to try to make the curriculum more appropriate for future teachers. We are still gathering data to see what effect that has had. Our graduates seem satisfied with the education that they have been given.

We are trying to increase our numbers of majors, but this is a long process. We are continually looking at the graduate exit surveys for new ideas on how to accomplish this and how to increase the success of our majors.

Developmental Mathematics

The purpose of Developmental Mathematics (DM) is remediation. It is an effort to bring students up to through Intermediate Algebra, a high school math course. This is the nationally recommended level for entering university students. The goal is to prepare students to be successful in Quantitative Literacy and in any other university courses using mathematics. Intermediate Algebra was established as the prerequisite for the Quantitative Literacy Courses by a Regents State Wide Task force during the conversion to semesters.

One way to deal with the problem of the large numbers of developmental students is to apply for NADE (National Association for Developmental Education) certification. This could help in looking at best practices among several institutions and maybe getting grants. This certification will be worked on in the coming year. Developmental education is a national and even international problem. We have had department members look at other institutions to see how they handle DM.

Quantitative Literacy

One of our faculty members (Lee Badger) was on a committee to assess general education at Weber State University. He was on the subcommittee looking at quantitative literacy. He has been very active in looking at alternative forms that other universities do and at potential new types of Math 1030 (Contemporary Mathematics) for WSU. He attended a workshop at the annual Mathematical Association of America (Intermountain Section) meeting held at Idaho State University in which a new type of quantitative literacy course was discussed. It looked interesting and more work will be done to investigate.

A survey was taken of department chairs and program directors, asking about their thoughts on the WSU quantitative literacy requirement. Most programs require skills taught in the QL courses, and most were satisfied with the education their students receive, with some exceptions. There was no consensus on whether or not the requirement was too high or too low. Many comments were given recommending different things, and these are all being studied. It was interesting to hear other opinions on our courses and requirements. More work is being done this year to build upon this beginning.

Adjunct Faculty and Lecturers

For some time efforts have been made to supervise the large number of adjunct faculty. The coordination of the Math 950, 955,  960, and 1010 courses seems to be working well. A similar effort with Math1050 is underway. We will be assessing how that is working.

Plans are underway of how to better train adjuncts, mentor, and assess them. We currently have a meeting with them at the beginning of each semester to talk about standards, policies, and questions that they might have.  There are places for them to get questions answered as they come up during the semester. Their student evaluations are studied after each semester to get a feel for how they are doing. Statistics on course grades are kept. More work is underway and in the planning stage.

The Solution Space

The Solution Space was established during the Fall of 2003. A room on the second floor of Building 4 became a gathering place for students of all levels, but especially geared towards developmental students. Helpers (tutors, etc.) were hired and faculty held some of their office hours there. The Solution Space is typically full during morning hours, and has students in it all day. It has been a great success. 

The Solution Space is again being staffed with helpers (tutors). Continual efforts are made to advertise that help is available here. Within the scope of this study area, many things are being done to help DM students pass their courses. Tutors are providing exam review sessions for the developmental courses. They are fairly well attended, and sometimes they have to be moved to a different classroom. Some faculty spend offices hours in there helping students as well.

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