Completion toolkit
Math Pathways
Math Pathway Recommendations by Program of Study or Major
Beyond Financial Aid
Beyond Financial Aid is a toolkit designed to help two- and four-year institutions close attainment gaps for low-income students.
Advising
Many students need help to identify an appropriate degree program and remain on track to complete their post-secondary credential. Proactive advising provide meaningful, credible, timely support to students on selecting a program that will meet a student’s academic and career goals and provide support when they become off track in their program. The role of advising with relation to student success cannot be underemphasized.
As a primary point of contact for students on campuses, academic advisors are responsible for developing lasting relationships with students to help them navigate college and graduate. Professional advisors, faculty, and even other students serve as advisors at USG institutions, working to provide accurate, appropriate, and timely information to students as they progress through programs of study. In recent years, changing needs among students and new technology have influenced the role of advisors and highlighted a need for additional skills within the profession.
Shortening Time to Degree
Among the goals of Complete College Georgia is shortening the time to degree through programs that allow students to earn college credit while still in high school and by awarding credit for prior learning that is verified by appropriate assessment.
15-to-Finish
15 to Finish is a Complete College Georgia initiative that emphasizes the fact that students need to take 15 (or more) credits per semester to finish degrees “on time.” “On time” means associate degrees are completed in two years and bachelor’s degrees are completed in four years.
Degree completion is important because students with bachelor’s degrees can expect to earn 84% more over a lifetime than students without bachelor’s degrees. Students with “some college, no degree” do not enjoy this advantage and may have incurred substantial educational debt with little or no increased earning power.
Associate Degree You Deserve
Within the USG, it is common for students to transfer out of associate degree institutions prior to completing the requirements for the degree. In some cases, students will be successful in earning bachelor's degrees.
Go Back, Move Ahead
"Go Back. Move Ahead" is a part of Governor Nathan Deal's Complete College Georgia initiative, which launched in 2011.
Guided Pathways to Success
Guided Pathways to Success is an initiative of Complete College America to ensure that students receive guidance to complete degree programs efficiently, without taking excessive courses that will not count toward degrees.
Transforming Remediation
Nationally, and in Georgia, relatively few students who begin college requiring remediation ever complete their degrees.
As part of Complete College Georgia, Georgia aims to change these statistics so that more students who enter in Learning Support are able to complete degrees. Across the nation and within the state of Georgia, dozens of pilot projects show that by transforming the way that we do remediation, we can dramatically increase success rates in collegiate gateway courses and beyond, without compromising the integrity of the content.
Math Pathways
Math Pathway Recommendations by Program of Study or Major
These downloadable matrices show the non-STEM Math Pathway recommendations from Regents Advisory Committees. STEM pathway recommendations are based on the Academic and Student Affairs Handbook.1
Full Recommendations Non-STEM Recommendations STEM Recommendations Infographic
Background
For many students, the required mathematics course becomes a barrier to degree completion, either because they are reluctant to sign up for a mathematics course, or because they sign up for a mathematics course that is not appropriate for their program of study. It is important that students take the right mathematics course for their program of study or major. Ideally they should complete this first mathematics course during their first semester of enrollment.
The University System of Georgia actually has five mathematics pathways, each defined by the first mathematics courses that students take in IMPACTS Mathematics. The recommended mathematics pathways for STEM majors are defined in the Academic and Student Affairs Handbook (Section 2.4.4 Details Regarding Core IMPACTS Domains (Mathematics)). 1
- Students majoring in science, technology, or mathematics are expected to start with MATH 1113 Pre-calculus or MATH 1112 Trigonometry in IMPACTS Mathematics.
- Students majoring in engineering (and all Georgia Tech students) are expected to start with Calculus in IMPACTS Mathematics.
Non-STEM majors have a choice of taking MATH 1001 Quantitative Reasoning, MATH 1101, Introduction to Mathematical Modeling, MATH 1111 College Algebra, OR (at institutions participating in the statistics pathway) MATH/STAT 1401 Elementary Statistics (or a higher mathematics course) in IMPACTS Mathematics. Up to now, the default for non-STEM majors has been MATH 1111 College Algebra. Academic advisors have tended to advise students into MATH 1111 no matter what their major, seeing this as a “safe choice” that can apply to any major. The problem is that it really isn’t a “safe choice.” MATH 1111 has a very high withdrawal or failure rate, and for many students it becomes the singular barrier to degree completion. In addition, while MATH 1111 could be part of the pathway for STEM majors, STEM majors are supposed to start with MATH 1113 Pre-Calculus or Calculus in IMPACTS Mathematics, so students who would need to start in MATH 1111 are already a step behind as STEM majors.
The Mathematical Association of America, American Math Association for Two-Year Colleges, and other national math associations agree that College Algebra is not an appropriate gateway math course for students not pursuing Calculus… Only 10% of students who take College Algebra ever enroll in a Calculus course. 2
The USG Task Force on Transforming College Mathematics indicated that “System institutions should ensure the alignment of pathways for [IMPACTS Mathematics] to programs of study so that students learn the mathematical content necessary for success in their majors” 3 and issued the following statement:
Most students in System colleges now take College Algebra as their entry-level mathematics course. College Algebra was designed explicitly to meet the needs of students who are preparing to take Pre-calculus and Calculus. Most students in non-STEM majors would be better served by enrolling in Quantitative Reasoning or Introduction to Mathematical Modeling, possibly followed by a statistics course in [the IMPACTS STEM domain] (Natural Science, Mathematics, and Technology) of the core curriculum. Quantitative Reasoning and Introduction to Mathematical Modeling were designed to meet the needs of non-STEM majors and include significant real-world applications. They are appropriate, rigorous mathematics courses for a broad array of non-STEM programs of study in which deep knowledge of and facility with basic mathematics are essential to prepare students for responsible citizenship.3
The IMPACTS Mathematics alternatives to MATH 1111 College Algebra for non-STEM majors are MATH 1001 Quantitative Reasoning, MATH 1101 Introduction to Mathematical Modeling, or (at statistics pathways institutions) MATH/STAT 1401 Elementary Statistics. Most institutions only offer one of these two courses and no institution is required to offer both. Regents Advisory Committees were asked to evaluate which of the non-STEM mathematics pathways was most appropriate for their students. In considering this question, they were asked to weigh most heavily whether or not calculus was required to complete a program of study in the discipline, and to recommend whether students should take MATH 1111 or one of the three alternative courses. It is important to note that these “alternative” courses are not “algebra free.” They are rigorous mathematical courses that incorporate essential algebra skills for non-STEM majors in an appropriate context.
Students who are not STEM majors may not be REQUIRED to take a particular mathematics course (from among MATH 1001, 1101, 1111, or 1401), and may choose to take MATH 1111 even if MATH 1001, MATH 1101 or MATH/STAT 1401 is recommended for their program of study. Selection of mathematics courses for non-STEM majors is a matter of advisement, not a matter of degree requirements. All students are also free to take higher level mathematics courses if they place higher than MATH 1001, 1101, 1401 or 1111.
The Regents Advisory Committee on Mathematical Subjects (ACMS)4 issued the general course descriptions below to aid Regents Advisory Committees in recommending the appropriate IMPACTS Mathematics course for their program(s) of study. Links to more extensive descriptions of course content are also provided.
Algebra-Calculus Pathway
MATH 1111 College Algebra
This course is the first step in the pathway to a calculus course. In general, students should not be entered in this pathway unless it is a prerequisite for a major requirement (either in mathematics or elsewhere). This course was designed explicitly to develop the algebra skills needed for success in calculus. Students who will not need these specific skills in a later course are usually better served in the other pathway. The next step in this pathway could be trigonometry, precalculus, or a survey of calculus.
Detailed content description for MATH 1111 College Algebra
Non-Algebra Pathways
MATH 1001 Quantitative Reasoning or MATH 1101 Introduction to Mathematical Modeling or MATH/STAT 1401 Elementary Statistics
Individual institutions in the USG typically offer either Quantitative Reasoning or Math Modeling. Both courses include the analysis of data–centered problems with the intent of developing appropriate mathematical models and communicating results in a clear and effective fashion. The difference between the two courses is that Quantitative Reasoning (MATH 1001) places more emphasis on decision making in the context of problem-solving while Math Modeling (MATH 1101) places the emphasis on modeling real-world data with elementary functions. Elementary Statistics is an introductory course in the topic for students and may be especially relevant for students pursuing programs that rely on statistical evidence. Possible next steps in this pathway would include courses in statistics, or further courses in mathematical modeling or decision-making.
Detailed content description for MATH 1001 Quantitative Reasoning
Detailed content description for MATH 1101 Introduction to Mathematical Modeling
Detailed content description for MATH/STAT 1401 Elementary Statistics
Math Pathway Recommendations by Program of Study or Major
These downloadable matrices show the non-STEM Math Pathway recommendations from Regents Advisory Committees. STEM pathway recommendations are based on the Academic and Student Affairs Handbook.1
Full Recommendations Non-STEM Recommendations STEM Recommendations
Sources:
1 Academic and Student Affairs Handbook, Section 2.4.4, IMPACTS Mathematics: http://www.usg.edu/academic_affairs_handbook/section2/C738/#p2.4.4_details_regarding_areas_af
2 Complete College America Math Pathways: https://completecollege.org/strategy/math-pathways/
3 University System of Georgia: Transforming College Mathematics July 2013 (Report of the Task Force to Transform College Mathematics)
4 Advisory Committee on Mathematical Subjects (ACMS), MATH Pathways in the University System of Georgia.
