Proposal

About five years ago, the Technology Fee Committee funded the mathematics department to create an instructional computer lab (room SE 271), a year later a second instructional computer lab (room SE 340/350), and two years later a third instructional computer lab (room SE 314), in order to improve student achievement in lower-division mathematics and statistics courses.  (Funding was also obtained from the Department of Mathematical Sciences and the Dean of the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science for space renovation as well as support for student assistants to aid the learning of students in these labs.)  The goal has been to expand use of a hybrid model of teaching, in which some lecture time is exchanged for laboratory time where students can work on homework online and obtain immediate feedback from teaching assistants and the instructor.  Courses supported in these computer labs under this model of teaching include Intermediate Algebra (MAT 1033), College Algebra (MAC 1105), and Introductory Statistics (STA 2023).  The computer lab in room SE 271 is also use for lectures in Introduction to Computational Mathematics (MAD 2502), Probability and Statistics for Engineers (STA 4032), Applied Statistics 1 STA 4234), and various graduate courses in statistics and the department’s Master of Science in Teaching degree program.  The total demand for all these courses is currently in excess of 4500 students per year.

The computer lab in SE 340/350, now in its fourth year of operation, has seen especially heavy usage, currently approximately 2000 college algebra and statistics students each fall semester and 1500 each spring semester.  This lab holds 96 student computers, plus 3 reserved for tutors. This room is an ideal size for large mathematics and statistics classes requiring moderate computational capability.  Because of the age of the equipment in the lab, we need to replace the computers in SE 340/350, and we need to outfit the room with upgrades to some of the special software used in calculus, for occasional use by our large calculus courses.

As a final note, our instructional computer labs support the mathematics department’s activities intended to give enrichment to our students as they investigate the application and utility of mathematics and statistics to problems of interest.  These activities facilitate our implementation of the QEP, and we seek to upgrade our equipment to support this endeavor.

These terminals should be network connected, and will need faster processors than our current system. The i7 processor or equivalent, with 8 to 16 GB of RAM will give us the power and flexibility we need for data analysis and multi-course use. Statistical software demands faster processors and additional memory.  We budget $1,500 per computer outfitting each computer with a 21” display, which is desirable for challenging data analysis problems.  

With 96 workstations and 3 instructor/tutor units, 106 units will provide us with backup support to keep the lab functioning at its maximum capacity.

Total hardware costs: 106 x $1,500 = $159,000

?While OIT standard software will be installed, the following additional software will be needed:

1. Net Support - This software limits website and program access to students when in the lab. We want to be able to restrict access during certain times so the students focus on mathematics. Cost per perpetual license is $50, with a total cost of $5,300.

The Department of Mathematical Sciences and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science will continue to fund the staff needed to support the computer lab. Additional funds for this purpose will not be requested from the Tech Fee grant.