Mathematics
2023-2024 Program Review

Current Website:

Here is what the website currently says: Besides pre-college and college-level math classes that meet ARC graduation requirements, ARC offers an A.S. degree in mathematics that provides a foundation of mathematics for students in preparation for transfer to a four-year program in mathematics or statistics. Degree course work includes a three semester calculus series, differential equations, linear algebra, and statistics and/or symbolic logic.

Proposed Website Update: 

ARC offers mathematics and statistics courses to meet the educational goals of all our students, which include personal enrichment, associate degrees, certificates, and transferring to a university. Some of our courses serve a wide range of academic goals, such as Math 333: Introduction to College Algebra, while other courses are geared toward specific goals, such as Math 340: Calculus for Business and Economics. In a data-driven culture, we help students understand some of the ways in which mathematics and statistics can be used in the world around us. 

Our mathematics and statistics faculty come from a wide variety of backgrounds and are proud of the variety of ways we support our students. Our courses are offered in a variety of modalities, such as face-to-face, online, and hybrid. We also have a Math Learning Center that enables students to work independently on some courses under the guidance of a faculty member with tutorial support. Many of our courses are linked with a concurrent support course so that students have an opportunity to strengthen the skills needed for success in the transfer-level course. Our thriving MESA program supports students majoring in STEM, especially first-generation college students. Students can find community and a variety of opportunities in their HomeBase. 

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Please note: In compliance with CA Legislation AB 705 and AB 1705, pretransfer-level courses (those numbered below 300, for example Math 120) are no longer being offered.

The four courses with the largest enrollments are Math 300, Stat 300, Math 333, and Math 400. Of the 24 possible student groups we can look at for DI, there are five groups that show up repeatedly: African American, Hispanic/Latino, Disability, Below Poverty Level, and Foster Youth. The tables below show the difference (gap) in success rates between students in the identified group and all students not in the identified group. 

Student Group: African American

Course (Success Rate Gap (percentage points))

Math 300 (-24%)

Stat 300 (-21%)

Math 333 (-18%)

Math 400 (-19%)

Student Group: Hispanic/Latino

Course (Success Rate Gap (percentage points))

Math 300 (-5%)

Stat 300 (-6%)

Math 333 (-9%)

Math 400 (-9%)

Student Group: Disability

Course (Success Rate Gap (percentage points))

Math 300 (-11%)

Stat 300 (-20%)

Math 333 (No significant gap)

Math 400 (No significant gap)

Student Group: Below Poverty Level

Course (Success Rate Gap (percentage points))

Math 300 (-14%)

Stat 300 (-7%)

Math 333 (-12%)

Math 400 (No significant gap)

Student Group: Foster Youth (yes)

Course

Math 300 (Enrollment at Census = 10 students; Successful Completions = 1 student; Success Rate Gap = -49%)

Stat 300 (Enrollment at Census = 11 students; Successful Completions = 3 students; Success Rate Gap = -28%*)

Math 333 (Enrollment at Census = 12 students; Successful Completions = 2 student; Success Rate Gap = -45%)

Math 400 (Enrollment at Census = None; Successful Completions = N/A; Success Rate Gap = N/A)

*Note: The 28% percentage-point gap did not meet the threshold for being statistically significant.

• We have a significant number of faculty participating in Communities of Practice around equity-related issues and around support courses. 
• Many of our faculty members are engaged in professional development and post-graduate education related to equity. 
• We have offered and are continuing to plan FLEX workshops on topics such as effective online assessment strategies and discussed strategies for increasing student success, for example concept-based grading.
• To specifically address the group of students who are below the poverty level, some of our faculty have developed OER and/or Zero-Textbook Cost materials and courses and have shared them with the department for adoption. These have also been incorporated into the Course Outlines of Record for these courses.
• We have created and implemented support courses to increase success for our students. 
• Math Learning Center classes offer soft deadlines, allow students to retake exams, have built-in tutoring support, and provide students with regular one-on-one meetings with their instructors.  
• Math, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) is an equity program designed to support, through tutoring and community, first-generation college students pursuing Bachelor's degrees in STEM. 
• Several faculty are teaching courses with learning community cohorts (PRIDE, Umoja, Puente, & Dual Enrollment). 
• Our culture of student engagement is inherently linked to our intra-department culture and how we engage with one another. Conversations valuing inclusivity have taken priority in our department meetings and significant changes have been made, resulting in a more inclusive culture.

• Increase collaboration with Umoja and Puente and seek to increase learning community options.
• Share resources that highlight culturally relevant mathematics and mathematicians in classes, the STEM HomeBase, and MESA. 
• Increase participation in our concurrent support courses by bringing awareness to the benefits of a structured course that provides real-time support.
• Gather feedback from counseling and learning communities to help us understand how students experience our classes.
• Continue to rebuild community in the department, improve working conditions, and boost morale. Examples include a standing department agenda item that fosters conversations regarding inclusivity, social interactions on and off campus, and increased use of breakout rooms during Zoom meetings.

• Stability in our programs to evaluate current supports and implement improvements as needed, such as with our support courses. We need the California legislature to stop changing the courses we offer while we assess the rapid and dramatic changes we’ve experienced over the past few years.
• Reassigned time or ESAs to financially support continued exploration for less traditional methods of instruction that are in better alignment with the work our students will do and the world in which they live, all while maintaining academic integrity. 
• Additional FTE from Learning Communities to offer a variety of LC sections.
• Support from the Curriculum Committee to adjust our course outlines of record to be more descriptive and student friendly, specifically as they relate AB 705 and AB 1705.
• Stable and consistent administrative support at all levels, including clear and continuous communication.
• Funding for site licenses for supportive mathematical software.
• Funding and additional space for a test proctoring center in order to address issues of academic integrity.
• Funding for in-person social interactions–meals, events, activities, etc.

• The California legislature has made dramatic, rapid changes in mathematics education. This has given us very little opportunity to study and refine existing programs because we have been scrambling to just keep up with changes. 
• There is concern about academic integrity with regard to online assessment. 
• We are working to establish an appropriate number of course offerings in each modality–in-person, online, and hybrid. This can lead to value conflicts–is it better to accommodate student demand for online classes or is it better to offer more in-person classes to ensure more academic integrity?
• Ensure accessibility to all our classrooms for all our students, including our students with disabilities. The STEM building has a single elevator that has been very unreliable and inoperable on multiple occasions, which is a critical accessibility issue that creates an inequitable environment.