Program Review: Academic Disciplines

Questions/Data Elements for Institutional Program Review:

Name of Academic Discipline: Mathematics

Date:October 13, 2009

Name of Person Preparing Program Review Document: Dan Kumpf

Date of Departmental Meeting Held to Review Program Review Document: Discussions held online from 9/27 to 10/13

  1. Provide an overview of the program.

What is the purpose of the program? How does this purpose relate to the college mission and/or educational master plan?

The primary purposes of the mathematics program are to provide courses that meet prerequisites in other disciplines, provide courses that meet competency for an A.A degree, and provide courses to support general ed and transfer requirements. In addition, this program also strives to provide remediation to students who desire to improve their basic skills and provide avenues to develop critical thinking skills that can be useful in the workforce.

What degrees/certificates are offered by the program?

None

What discipline-specific student learning outcomes have been identified for the academic discipline?

None for the discipline since neither degrees nor certificates are awarded in mathematics at this institution; however the department has created student learning outcomes for each of our courses.

When was the curriculum for the program most recently revised, and what changes were made? When did the subject discipline last go through the Curriculum Committee’s content review process?

The department reviews and updates all of its courses within the prescribed time to ensure articulation of our courses. The department also strives to be innovative and provide various instructional modalities and new courses to meet the ever changing needs of our students. In the spring of 2009, the department introduced a pilot MATH V01 course broken into five, one-unit, self-paced, mastery-based modules. The course was fully implemented in the fall of 2009 along with five, one-unit, self-paced, mastery-based modules of MATH V03. Currently the department is working with the curriculum committee to bring MATH V09 and MATH V10 into this self-paced modality in the fall of 2010.

The department also created and offered MATH V35, Intermediate Algebra for Health Care, in Fall 2009. This course was created to support the nursing program and meet the new math competency requirement that was implemented for new students in fall 2009. Also effective in Fall 2009, the department changed the MATH V04 course content and added one unit to the course. This change provided another path to our MATH V21A class. Students now have the option to take MATH V20 or MATH V04 and MATH V05 to get into MATH V21A. Previously the only path to MATH V21A was through MATH V20.

  1. Present and analyze data that demonstrate achievement levels of the students within your program.

For allinstructional programs, include the following data (transferring the information as indicated from the two reports provided to you for this purpose):

Transfer information for these three columns
from the “525 Report” / Transfer information for these two columns from the District Goal Report
Semester / Units / ACG WSCH/FTEF / % 525 Goal / District Goal for This Discipline / % of District Goal
Fall 2007 / 395 / 545.3 / 104 / 550 / 99
Spring 2008 / 368 / 525.0 / 100 / 550 / 95
Fall 2008 / 383 / 638.7 / 122 / 550 / 116
Spring 2009 / 406 / 568.2 / 108 / 550 / 103

Analyze the trends observed through the data:

The above table demonstrates a substantial increase in efficiency when comparing fall to fall and spring to spring.

For occupational programs, also include and analyze the following additional data where available:

  • Degrees / certificates conferred over the most recent three-year period
  • Job placements over the most recent three-year period
  • Licensure pass rates over the most recent three-year period
  • Student performance on standardized tests over the most recent three-year period

N/A

  1. Describe the strengths of the program. Include, where relevant, descriptions of:articulation status with other colleges or universities; student or program awards; visibility of the program in the community; cooperative efforts with other departments; innovations in the areas of curriculum development, teaching techniques, and/or the use of technology.

Articulation – All math courses above the level of Intermediate Algebra are articulated throughout the UC and CSU systems as well as most private universities throughout the state. The mathematics department has worked closely with the Articulation Officer to ensure excellent articulation.

Awards– At the end of each academic year the math department holds a luncheon and awards the Howe-Heywood cash prize to the top math student in our program as well as other cash prizes and certificates of recognition to high achieving students and high scoring students in the National Student Math League Competition.

Cooperative effort– Mathematics courses are named as required prerequisites in Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Engineering, Physics, Physical Science, and one Psychology course. The Math Department worked with these disciplines to ensure that our curriculum meets the prerequisite topics needed for these courses. The department also worked cooperatively with the Nursing Department to create the Applied Math for Health Care Personnel course. Furthermore, the Math Department willingly relinquished much needed building space specifically designed as a testing center and interactive mathematics classroom to provide space for the MESA program. Finally, the Math Department supports the expansion of the East Campus (EC) and offers classes at EC every semester including the summer sessions. Some semesters this commitment came at the cost of reducing one or two of the offerings on this campus.

Innovations– The math department is consistently forward thinking. We adopted computer mediated classes as early as 1996 and were among the first to introduce online courses at VC. All of our math classrooms are smart classrooms equipped with a PC and projector. These computers are loaded with all the latest software relevant to the math program. The department also offers collaborative learning classes, and we embrace Supplemental Instruction Tutors to attempt to meet various learning styles and needs. A number of math instructors host web pages that provide announcements, support online quizzes, and have online gradebooks. Currently the department is involved in a Title V grant project to create and offer MATH V09, MATH V10, MATH V01, and MATH V03 in a self-paced, mastery based, modular format. In this setting students are provided open entry and work at their own pace to complete the courses.

  1. Describe the improvements neededand/or the issues that must be addressed in relation to advancing or declining growth. Also address, where relevant, improvements needed relative to: level of student preparedness; unique faculty or staff licensure requirements; the need for retraining of department members or other professional development issues; level of funding; unique staffing needs; ability to meet legal or regulatory mandates; limitations affecting potential growth of the program; institutional support for the program

We anticipate advancing growth in coming years (see item #6). To accommodate this growth the department must be permitted to add sections (see item #6), hire additional full-time faculty (see item #7 3rd bullet), and be granted additional classrooms (see item # 9) to support the increased demand for our courses.

  1. Describe the plans that have been developed for the next year to address the need to improve as described above.

We will appeal to the Staffing Priorities Committee, the Campus Resource Council (CRC), the Facilities

Oversight Group (FOG), and the administration to grant the funding, faculty, and facility space to accommodate

the student demand that we now encounter as well as the anticipated growth.

  1. Describe the major trends you expect to impact your program in the next five years. Based on these trends, what will your program need to do to maintain currency/relevance or an optimal level of instructional quality?

Please see the following table.

Academic Year / Total math FTES
04/05 / 770.0
05/06 / 825.0
06/07 / 825.8
07/08 / 901.9
08/09 / 1046.8

Based on the trend displayed in this table we anticipate continued enrollment growth. To meet the increased demand the department must be permitted to add sections, hire more full-time faculty, and acquireadditional classrooms. This demand cannot be met with increased efficiency or by hiring additional adjunct faculty. The department already exceeds the 525 and district goals for efficiency, we fill our classrooms at and beyond capacity, and we encounter great difficulty finding skilled adjunct faculty.

  1. Requests for Faculty

Please submit the requested information if you are requesting additional (growth) faculty members in your area, requesting an replacement for a current or anticipated vacancy due to retirement or resignation, or anticipating the need for a categorically-funded grant faculty position to be picked up by the general fund at the end of the grant. List your requests in priority order and for each provide:

  • A two or three sentence primary function statement that describes the major responsibility of the position requested and (where relevant) how the position relates to the college-wide planning priorities:
  • A description of the degree of difficulty in finding hourly faculty in this discipline.
  • An assessment of the consequences/repercussions if the position is not approved.
  • New faculty will be responsible to teach the full range of mathematics courses.
  • There is great difficulty finding qualified, proficient, adjunct mathematics faculty. It was necessary to hire new adjunct faculty every semester but one in the past decade. Despite the hiring frenzy it was frequently necessary to cancel scheduled classes with large enrollments because we could not find enough faculty to teach the classes. It has also been a common occurrence to under schedule for student demand since we expecteddifficulty hiring. This trend of under scheduling and cancelling classescaused us to hire some marginally competent and even incompetent adjunct faculty over the past decadein anattempt to meet student demand.
  • If additional full-time faculty are not hired, enrollments in math will continue to be stifled and student demand for classes will not be met. Mathematics is a requirement for every student who wishes to take Science classes, earn an A.A., and transfer to a university. If we cannot offer and staff a sufficient number of classes to meet student demand, then we are impeding students’ progress to meet competency, meet transfer requirements, and meet prerequisite requirements in other disciplines. It must be noted that impeding students’ progress to meet prerequisite requirements for other disciplines robs FTES from those disciplines as well as our own by delaying and/or discouraging students from entering those programs. We strongly suspect that many students become disillusioned with Ventura College when they experience great difficulty enrolling in math classes, then they either drop out or leave Ventura College to take courses elsewhere.

In addition, fill in the following data (transferring the information from the “525 Report” that has been provided):

Semester / % Contract / Hourly FTEF / Full-Time FTEF / Total FTEF
Fall 2007 / 50.3 / 13.0 / 13.2 / 26.2
Spring 2008 / 48.9 / 12.4 / 11.9 / 24.3
Fall 2008 / 51.9 / 12.2 / 13.2 / 25.4
Spring 2009 / 50.6 / 13.2 / 13.5 / 26.8
  1. Requests for Classified Staff

Please submit the requested information if you are requesting additional (growth) classified staff in your area or anticipating the need for a categorically-funded grant staff position to be picked up by the general fund at the end of the grant. List your requests in priority order and for each provide:

  • A two or three sentence primary function statement that describes the major responsibility of the position requested and (where relevant) how the position relates to the college-wide planning priorities:
  • A description of how the responsibilities that would be handled by the requested position are presently being handled.
  • An assessment of the consequences/repercussions if the position is not approved.

N/A

  1. Prioritized list: Capital equipment

Identify the equipment needed, its approximate cost, and the rationale for the request. If requesting more than one item or project, list the requests in priority order, ranking three items/projects maximum.

The department needs additionalsmart classrooms designated for math. We currently cannot accommodate our schedule with the classrooms available to us. Each semester it is necessary to look for classrooms not utilized by other departments and divisions. This necessitates scheduling classes at undesirable times and scheduling some classes that require the use of technology in classrooms not outfitted with the required technology. In addition a lot of time is wasted waiting for other classrooms to become available. This delays the production and staffing of the math schedule and makes it difficult to meet the schedule calendar.

  1. Prioritized list: Facilities improvement

Identify and rank the unit's three most critical areas in need of physical renovation, maintenance and/or repair. For each prioritized request, include a description of the renovation needed and a brief rationale.

1. Replace the Venetian blinds in all math classrooms. At present, the blinds must either be fully up or fully down and most are damaged. The blinds should be able to be adjustable to reduce the amount of sunlight and heat that enters the classroom, yet not flap in the breeze when the windows are open.

2. Protect the access and hallways to math faculty offices. There is destruction, dirt and debris caused by Marketplace patrons on the weekends. It is not unusual to find trash in the hallways and graffiti on office doors. There have been incidences of urine and feces found in recesses in the hallways when classes meet on Monday morning. We recognize the importance of the Marketplace, but we believe that our facilities should be protected from the abuse of some of its patrons.