It’s time for a change: rethinking the expiring math prerequisite

It might be time for Utah State University to rethink the expiring math prerequisite policy. The current policy has a one-year time limit placed on math and statistics courses that can be used as prerequisites. If the time limit passes, students must either retake the prerequisite course or take a math placement test. Many students find themselves in a difficult situation when one of those prerequisite courses has expired.

What is the reasoning behind the one-year (or three consecutive semesters) time limit? Certainly the policy was created with good intentions: students will be more likely to succeed in math or statistics courses when taken closely together. Nobody wants a lot of students failing courses simply because they learned the math principles necessary to succeed in the course too long ago. With that said, however, the policy of one year seems somewhat arbitrary.

For me personally, math has always been a difficult subject. I don’t remember math concepts like I do other information; it doesn’t really interest me. It likely wouldn’t matter if I took Math 1050 the semester after I took Math 1010 or if I took it two years later. The likelihood that I retained the information from one math course to the next is pretty low, although I’m sure it is easier to re-learn the concepts if courses are taken closely together. (For the record, I took Math 0900, Math 1010, Math 1050 and Statistics 2300 consecutively.)

My recommendation would be courses that fulfill general education requirements don’t expire, essentially Math 1050 and any courses that lead up to it. Chances are if someone struggles with math and starts with either Math 0900 or Math 1010 like I did, they will take the courses consecutively anyway. I think it makes sense for more upper level courses have a time limit.

Removing this policy for courses that are taken to fulfill the general education requirement would mean students who change or add majors after a year of taking Math 1050 won’t find themselves with an expired, or essentially worthless, math class. If that causes concern, as I’m sure the suggestion does, perhaps simply removing the time limit for students who received As or Bs in Math 1050 would be a better option.

At the end of the day, students are responsible for their own education. Expiring prerequisites aren’t necessarily going to help a student succeed. Most college courses don’t have this type of arbitrary expiration date and rightly so. I don’t have all of the answers, and there is likely a great deal of information those who believe in this policy have that I don’t. Regardless, I know expiring math prerequisite courses cause a great deal of concern for many students, and it just might be worth it to reevaluate this policy.

— Casey Saxton, a senior majoring in business administration and marketing, serves as the student advocate vice president for the USU Student Association. He can be reached in TSC 340, by email at studentadvocate@usu.edu or on Twitter at @AggieAdvocate.