MA101 or MA103

(Advising comments by Professor Margaret Latimer, Dept. Chair Mathematics, Germantown)

Based on what I have seen, students fall very roughly into the following categories:

Six categories of math students:

A. Absolutely convinced they will never do anything that needs math AND not strong in math and/or hate math :( (Art history major, English major....)

B. Absolutely convinced that they don't want to have anything to do with math or don't know what they want to do, not strong in math, but just maybe there's a major out there (fashion design?) that might use a bit of math.

C. Not sure what they want to do and are pretty neutral about math, or may even like it (I swoon). ("...had an awesome pre-calculus teacher my senior year..." but placed into intermediate algebra.)

D. Know they need math (business majors, ed majors) but not strong in math/don't like it

E. Know they need math (business majors, etc.) and placed into intermediate algebra because they've been away from algebra for a year or more, or they "just didn't do anything in high school."

F. Need math (engineering, math, physics, chemistry...) like it or not.

All of the students should understand that MA103 will give them more options.

That said, I see advising students as follows:

MA101 OR MA103?

Category C - depending on accuplacer or MA091 grade, and their motivational, organizational, and procrastinational coefficients (we're working on quantifying those), these students should be encouraged to take MA103. Low-range of MA101/3 accuplacer or B in MA091 and struggled for that....should go to MA101.

I do think taking MA101 and passing it, then continuing to MA103, with the taste of success, fresh, will be a good idea for some students. Failure doesn't tend to inspire any math student. The flip side - and my concern - is that a significant percentage of MA103 will be the same as MA101.