Proposal

Some of the IFP courses in mathematics have an opportunity to improve graduation rates and progress rate metrics.    There are four things that can be done:

·         Ensure that students are placed in the proper course

·         Provide help for students before they are having trouble

·         Provide remediation for students who need additional help before they are able to be successful in a required course

·         Monitor with advising if students are taking advantage of the services offered and refer those who are not doing so to advising for additional counseling

Students are able to take a course in mathematics by meeting the prerequisites or by achieving a specific threshold on ALEKS, our placement examination.    The first attempt of a student on ALEKS can be taken at home and is not proctored.  Subsequent attempts must be proctored.     ALEKS scores more than 6 months old need to be updated via a proctored ALEKS.   

We could increase the required ALEKS score for admission to a course.  However, it is possible to have a relatively high ALEKS score and have significant deficiencies in some of the components of this score.   We are investigating use of sub-scores of ALEKS to help in placement and results will be forthcoming.     But admission via prerequisites can always trump a poor ALEKS score.    We have data that show that some DFW rates are 10 points more for students when they have taken their prerequisites at state colleges and only 10% of the students in some courses are admitted by ALEKS.   

Instructors have found that from exams given the first week of class on review material that some students are not prepared and need to be transferred to an introductory course or undergo extensive remediation.    In conjunction with advising, we are working on scheduling fallback classes to make this transition possible during the first week.   All of these activities, even when possible, make the load on the MLC increase substantially and we need to upgrade our equipment in order to handle this.   

Usage of the MLC has continued to grow, even with enrollment in math classes going down slightly:

·         Fall 2013: 7,323 visits (6,608 students enrolled)

·         Spring 2014: 7,200 visits (5,602 students enrolled)

·         Fall 2014: 7,478 visits (5,942 students enrolled)

·         Spring 2015: 8,191 visits (5,805 students enrolled)

·         Fall 2015: already over 8,500 visits as of 11/3/15

Our computers are 5 years old (frequently experiencing maintenance issues) and we have no opportunity for holding review sessions with projection equipment.    Such improved facilities will also be used for training our Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) and Undergraduate (UG) Tutors who work with our students.  We have attained the highest level of certification from the College Reading and Learning Association (CRLA), and continued training of our GTAs and UG Tutors is required (and beneficial for the services we offer).    We also instruct our GTAs and UG Tutors in pedagogy for assisting students (e.g. active learning and critical thinking skills development) and this has had a positive impact when we have looked at courses using specially trained undergraduate TAs as Learning Assistants (LA).  

We have 2 other programs in the MLC which expand our opportunity to help our students.   These are the use of the SAM (Succeed at Methods) lab and the use of remote tutoring.

In order to continue and expand our remote tutoring efforts, we need to

·         Have capability to hold remote tutoring review sessions and to record helpful math hints videos in the MLC after hours. These would be posted to the MLC webpage for student viewing. We are currently restricted to using SE 271 when available (it is in use by classes most of the time). This will require Smart Ink, a webcam, and a microphone.

·         Renew our Adobe Connect licenses (our current remote tutoring platform) for another year.

The MLC has supported remote tutoring for 10 courses with 1,456 live visits and provided 27 recorded reviews with 6,842 hits on recordings since Spring 2014 (not including Fall 2015). As many of our students are not traditional (have long commutes, work full time, etc.) and more courses are being offered online, we must continue to support these students’ needs for remote math tutoring in the evenings and weekends when the MLC is closed.

Two of the highest DFW courses in mathematics are MAC 2233 and MAC 2311.   The first is essential for students in the College of Business and the second for those in the College of Science and the College of Engineering.    Both of these courses require MAC 1105 (College Algebra), a course strongly supported via our programs.  

As MAC 2233 (Methods of Calculus) and MAC 2311 (Calculus 1) remain our highest DFW courses, data were analyzed and two trial initiatives put into place which show promise--

• A SAM (Succeed at Methods) lab was instituted in the MLC in Spring 2014. The basic approach was to isolate a location solely for the support of this course (it is the largest undergraduate math course at FAU) and encourage active learning and critical thinking skills. The results are notable:
• Spring 2014: 429 visits and DFW (students with 4+ visits) 17%
• Fall 2014: 1,230 vistis and DFW (students with 4+ visits) 25%
• Spring 2015: 843 visits and DFW (students with 4+ visits) 20%

Combined DFW rates for all sections are 41%, 46%, and 38% respectively. (We have submitted a separate tech fee proposal with testing and evaluation as we share the space in GS207.)

• We instituted a Learning Assistant (LA) program, which uses undergraduates working closely with instructors (and receiving pedagogy training) as well as course redesign by math faculty to support active learning and critical thinking skills (collaborative learning techniques) in the classroom for students in 2 sections of MAC 2311 in Fall 2014.  These two sections had DFW rates of 32% and 17% compared to a control group with a DFW rate of 52%.   Overall, the MAC 2311 DFW rate was 54%.
• Further restructuring of these courses is ongoing in conjunction with the Department of Mathematics.

The MLC has recently assumed responsibility for all mathematics tutoring in the CTL. This has generated substantial growth in services we offer certain student populations—Access and student athletes. The MLC supported 407 Access student tutoring appointments in Spring 2015 versus 0 in Fall 2014. We are receiving funding from Access for personnel to support these activities.

We have also been asked to give support for high-risk students to improve the progress rate metric.    

It is clear that the dramatic increase in use of the facilities has had a positive impact on student outcomes and an increasing demand on our facilities.  Our requests will buy us some time via technology to continue to offer our services in the limited space we have.   

The MLC in GS as part of the CTL is our main physical facility.    The SAM lab is also on the same floor.    remote tutoring preparation and recording sessions are done when available in SE 271.  This is far from ideal for the GTAs have their responsibilities for tutoring in the MLC, which is in GS.    Recording in the MLC is more desirable since it can also be used, if fitted suitably, for in-person review sessions.   The SAM lab is shared space with Testing and Evaluation.     

1.      Increase MLC capability for students to work with learning systems linked to classes, reviews, structured learning, and training.

18 new computers for student usage – estimated quote $15,389.82

Installation of a Smart instructor podium and AV equipment – estimated quote $19,799.77

Power & LV Conduits – estimated quote $855.00

Network drops – estimated quote $843.63

2.      Modernize SAM lab

Addressed in the tech fee proposal submitted by testing and evaluation.

3.      Support creation of remote tutoring and material at MLC

Logitech Webcam – $49.99

CVL Desktop Microphone – $10.99

Adobe Connect licenses – $2,698.00

Wacom Cintiq DTK2200 Display Tablet – $1799.00

Total Quote: $41,446.20 (need network drops pricing)

See attached quotes

Planning with the relevant organizations should begin as soon as funded.   Final implementation should be planned to begin in Spring 2016 if possible.

Continued funding of resources by Undergraduate Studies and the Department of Mathematics.  

Tutoring support is funded by the Department of Mathematics for the GTAs and by Undergraduate Studies and Access funding for the UG Tutors and LAs.