Getting Ahead in First-Year
Mathematics College Courses
Benjamin Flores
Director, Model Institution for Excellence
Helmut Knaust
Chair, Department of Mathematical Sciences
Nancy Marcus
Assistant Dean, College of Science
Dorothy Ward
Director, Entering Students Program
February 23, 2004
Overview of Presentation
•
•
•
•
•
UTEP’s Science and Engineering Program
CircLES at UTEP
Summer Orientation and Mathematics Placement
Modular Pre-Calculus
Institutionalization: Challenges and Opportunities
Fall 2002 Enrollment
17,232 students
2,521 in Engineering
+ 1,164 in Science
3,685 or 21% of total enrollment
Fall 2003 Enrollment
18,542 students
UTEP Student Population Profile (Fall 2001)
24 years of age (undergraduate average)
69% Hispanic (Mexican American)
82% from El Paso County
98% commuter
81% employed
54% first generation university students
UTEP’s Model for STEM Student Success
TimeLine
Goals
The goal of the CircLES program is to ...
• increase student retention
• improve their academic performance during the first
year at UTEP
• add value to their college education
Structure
CLUSTERS
STUDENT
LEADERSHIP
DEVELOPMENT
ORIENTATION
ADVISING
CircLES - One Week-Long Orientation
CONNECTIONS TO
UNIVERSITY
SERVICES
STUDY SKILLS
DEVELOPMENTAL
MATH REVIEW AND
PLACEMENT
RESEARCH MODULES
(Science or Engineering)
Math Review
• Duration: 3 days, 2 hours each day
• Students solve math problems in small groups of 4 or 5
students
• Math review is led by peer facilitators
• The accompanying text focuses on short explanations
and practice problems
• After the math review is complete, students retake UTEP’s
math placement exam
Math Review
[Almost] all students place into one of six courses:
1. College Prep Math (El Paso Community College; since Fall 2003)
2. Basic Mathematics (El Paso Community College; since Fall 2003)
3. Introduction to Algebra (UTEP)
4. Intermediate Algebra (UTEP)
5. Precalculus (UTEP)
6. Calculus I (UTEP)
Placement Before and After Math Review 2001-03
2003 Math Review: Mathematics Course Taken by
Students Initially Placing into Intro to Algebra (n=16)
2003 Math Review: Math Course Taken by Students
Initially Placing into Intermediate Algebra (n=152)
2003 Math Review: Mathematics Course Taken by
Students Initially Placing into Pre-Calculus (n=144)
Intermediate Algebra Passing Rate - Fall 2003
Pre-Calculus Passing Rate - Fall 2003
Correction:
On the graph
on the right,
the two regions
“45%” and
“39%” are
switched by
mistake: 39%
of the students
finished in one
semester. 45%
received an “In
progress”
grade.
Number
First-Time Enrollment in Semester
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
655
598
571
475
AY 1999-2000
AY 2000-2001
AY 2001-2002
*AY 2002-2003
Percentage Passing on First Attempt
Percentage
100.0%
80.0%
68.1%
60.0%
40.0%
65.1%
71.9%
51.4%
20.0%
0.0%
AY 1999-2000
AY 2000-2001
AY 2001-2002
*AY 2002-2003
PreCalculus
First Attempt
First-Time Enrollment in Semester
639
621
600
584
563
550
500
AY 1999-2000
AY 2000-2001
AY 2001-2002
*AY 2002-2003
Percentage Passing on First Attempt
Percentage
Number
650
100.0%
80.0%
60.0%
40.0%
20.0%
0.0%
57.4%
51.9%
AY 1999-2000
AY 2000-2001
50.2%
AY 2001-2002
51.5%
*AY 2002-2003
Calculus I
First Attempt
Fall Semester
Time 1
Time 2
Time 3
Time 4
Part 1
Part 2
Part 2
Part 3
Semester Grade = P (In-Progress)
Wintermester
Part 4
Grade = A, B, C, or P
Spring Semester
If P:
Time 1
Time 2
Time 3
Time 4
Part 4
Part 1 of
Cal I
Part 2 of
Cal I
Part 3 of
Cal I
Maymester
Part 4
Grade = A, B, C, or P
MODULAR PRECALCULUS – SOCIAL SAFETY NET
Students work in teams
Instructor Pooled Office Hours
Weekly Feedback Sessions
Monthly Tracking of Students
Semester Tracking of Students through Next Course
Email Communication
Web Site Communication
Non-Punitive Environment
Success
Let’s Try it in Calculus
Institutionalization: Challenges and Opportunities
Spring 2003:
• The State of Texas drastically reduces UTEP’s budget for the
biennium 2004-05
Summer 2003:
•
•
New Mathematics placement exam (Accuplacer)
The State of Texas replaces TASP by the Success Initiative
Fall 2003:
• The administration of the CircLES Program switches hands from
the Colleges of Engineering and Science to the University College
• Integration of the CircLES program into the university-wide
Entering Students Program – Preservation of best practices
Institutionalization: Challenges and Opportunities
Spring 2004:
•
First phase of a substantial tuition increase; the second phase
will become effective in the fall of 2004
Summer 2004:
•
Math review remains mandatory for entering science and
engineering students
• Math Review becomes optional for the rest of the entering
student body
Fall 2004:
•
Begin of a pilot program to “modularize” Calculus I in
cooperation with Polytechnic University
Reference
Benjamin C. Flores, Jana Renner Martínez, Helmut
Knaust, Ann Darnell, Lilly Romo, and Connie Kubo
Della-Piana:
“The Effectiveness of a Mathematics Review for
Student Placement into College-Level
Mathematics”.
“Proceedings of the 2003 American Society for
Engineering Education Annual Conference &
Exposition”, 2003.