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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 26, 1990)
Math failure rate leads to changes in curriculum By Todd Neeley Staff Reporter The curriculum in UNL’s Department of Mathematics and Statistics will be getting a face lift in 1991 in an attempt to decrease students’ math failure rate, an official said. Jim Lewis, department chair, said the cur riculum would be changed due to a seemingly high number of students dropping out of math or getting low grades. “We weren’t satisfied students were meet ing success” in math classes, he said. Lewis said he did not know exact numbers, but he said the failure rate was high enough to merit the changes. These are the curriculum changes: • Math 90C, the non-credit intermediate algebra class equivalent to three credit hours, will become Math 95C, a non-credit class equivalent to four credit hours. Non-credit classes are for students who have trouble learning math and have requirement deficiencies enter ing college. Grades earned do not count toward their grade point average or number of credit hours for graduation. • Math 100 and 101 will combine to form Math 101, which will be a semester-long three credit-hour course in algebra instead of two quarter-long courses. To take Math 101, stu dents will be required to have two years of high school algebra instead of three semesters. • Math 103, a semester-long five-credit hour class, combines Math 100 and Math 102. Math 103, trigonometry and college algebra, will be for students with strong math back grounds, Lewis said. After taking Math 103 students will be able to take Math 106, engi neering calculus. Math 102 still will exist as a two-credit-hour trigonometry course. • Math 100A will be a three-credit-hour intermediate algebra class designed to remove entrance deficiencies for students who do not have credit for second-year high school alge bra. This course does not count toward gradu ation. Lewis said the changes, which arc to be implemented in the spring of 1991, were ap proved Friday by a university wide curriculum committee. Faculty committees from the mathe matics and statistics department and the Col lege of Arts and Sciences also approved the changes, he said. Curriculum last was changed in 1972 in pre calculus math classes at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Lewis said the math department at UNL “has been slow to act” and that many univer sities have been changing their math curricu lums. Lewis said he wasn’t sure how many sec tions of the new courses would be available. In the future, he said, the math department will have to continue to ‘ ‘discover and respond to demands” of students needing to take math classes when determining the number of sec tions. mprifikn_1 UCl’s Parham will speak at UNL on Thursday Thomas Parham, director of the Career Planning and Placement Center at the University of California-Irvinc, will speak at 2 p.m. Thursday in the Centennial Room of the Nebraska Union. Parham is a speaker for the 1990-91 Minority Graduate Symposium Scries sponsored by the Office of Graduate Studies, the Department of Educational Psychology and the University Counseling Center. Parham currently serves as president of the Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development. He also is an active member of the Association of Black Psychologists, the American Psychological Association and the American Association for Counseling and Development. A reception honoring Parham will be at 1:30 p.m. Friday in the Culture Center, 333 Park Continued from Page 1 The move would not be as unsettling if more classrooms, facilities or parking were added to the university, Knudson said. “We arc definitely not happy with our busi ness being taken down for a park,” he said. Kelly Chcrmok, bookkeeper at Taco Inn’s general office, said the business has no plans on when or where it will move. Jean Aigncr, executive dean of Interna tional Affairs, said her office in the Institute for International Studies, 1237 R St., will remain in its location for a few years and has not found another location on campus. Todd said that although the beginning date for construction is not decided, the park is scheduled to be built in phases. Phase I of the park will include a small paved plaza wired for sound for performers and small ensembles, Todd said. The plaza will be surrounded by a fountain that will serve as a scaling wall. Raised planters will contain trees, flowers and shrubs. Also included in Phase I is a roofed structure that will be located on the south side of the Temple Building. Phase II of the park plan will include the area where the businesses arc located. This area of the park will be an open “passive space,” Todd said. There also will be some re configuration of the Temple Building’s load ing dock area, she said. Goebel said one of the main reasons for the park is to provide a link with downtown Lin coln. “The intention is to have a very attractive garden into our campus,” he said. Electoral Continued from Page 1 (student) group, they are not going to have the same questions.” But if the elections were cut in half, all important issues wouldn’t be voiced, he said. Vitek said the change to six debates was made ‘‘to provide opportunities for students to hear the issues, but maintain the level that is helpful to student candidates in being a full time student.” Fclker agreed that six debates is a good number to give students enough time for school, yet allow the issues to be heard. In other action, the commission added a provision for the removal of its members through the student court for “egregarious violations” of members’ rules of conduct. The conduct rules were amended to include a provision that commission members cannot openly take a stand on any issue before student voters. Under conduct rules, commission members also cannot be a candidate or openly support a candidate or student election group. .Also, members must sign a notarized oath of office. Vitek said any student could have taken a commission members’ actions before the stu dent court before the provision was added. “This is putting in writing what is pos sible,” he said. Reserves Continued from Page 1 copies of iheir orders showing ship-oul dales. Student reservists also can meet with Sch wartzkopf to adjust their financial aid awards and find out what they can do about housing, books and even football tickets, she said. Schwartzkopf said she expects the number of student reservists contacting her to rise as more reserve units are called up. “There were a lot of students who were on drill just this weekend, and they got the word that they may go any time,” she said. “One student told me he was told to be prepared to leave within 48 hours anytime within the next six months.” Stiegeit, a UNL graduate student, said she hopes to graduate in December despite the setback. Some students in Stiegcrt’s unit who have classes requiring daily attendance such as physics, foreign languages or math have to withdraw, she said. But because the unitonly will be gone two weeks, Sticgcrt and some others will be able to complete the semester by making up missed homework, “My professors have all been wonderful,” Sticgcrt said. “I have been working with them to make up the work or do it ahead of time.” Schwart/.kopf said most of the students she has talked to have accepted activation with few complaints. , “I don’t know if I’d be able to get my life in order in 24 hours,” she said. “Some students are upset about the timing because they’re into the semester . . . and it’s affecting their aca demic progress." ---— Count on Twisters for super low sale prices on the hottest new releases. George MichaeWListen Without Prejudice" Cassettes $5.77, CD's $9.77 Too SkortP'Short Dog's in the House" Cassettes $5.77, CD's $9.77 Cassettes 77 L I y fc. 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