Academic Senate: Math refresher course now available to returning students
Utah State University students returning from a leave of absence will be able to take a math crash course the week before fall semester begins.
USU has a high number of students returning from one to two years of military or church service struggling with old and unused math skills, College of Engineering Senator Lincoln Essig said. This non-credit course is designed to help prevent students from performing poorly in their first math class upon reentering their studies.
Essig noticed this problem for students returning to their math intensive engineering programs. He spoke with the department of math about offering the course.
“Prior to being approached by the engineering school the math department was planning to offer a refresher course intended for a broader student group than engineering students,” the instructor of the course, Bryan Bornholdt, said.
Thanks to the efforts of Essig and the Provost’s Office, the pilot course will be free for all interested students, but only 100 students will be admitted to the course. The course will begin Aug. 21 with Algebra and end Aug. 25 with Calculus II. Students may attend the days that apply most to their skill level.
Bornholdt envisions the course splitting into two courses with each course more focused on general or advanced math skills.
Interested students may register for the course by e-mailing their name, phone number, address, e-mail, A-number and the math course they intend to take this fall to coster@math.us.edu.
-jfullmer@cc.usu.edu