Sept. 29, 2010WVU Parkersburg receives $40,000 grant to enhance student success in mathematics.
CONTACT: Dr. Rhonda Richards, senior vice president for academic affairs, 304-424-8242.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
West Virginia University at Parkersburg is the recipient of a $40,000 grant to assist students in being successful in mathematics.
Part of a national initiative, the grant is awarded by the National Center for Academic Transformation.
WVU Parkersburg is among a select group of community colleges across the country that were invited to participate in NCAT’s “Changing the Equation” program. Goal of the initiative is to improve student learning outcomes in remedial and developmental math while reducing costs for both students and institutions using NCAT’s redesign methodology.
In the spring, WVU Parkersburg joined community college teams from 36 states expressing interest in participating in the program. WVU Parkersburg was selected as one of 53 semi-finalists and invited to move forward in the competition.
As an award recipient, WVU Parkersburg is among approximately 25 institutions receiving $40,000 grants to redesign their developmental math course sequences.
“To improve overall student retention and success, WVU Parkersburg will redesign its current developmental math sequence which consists of two separate courses: arithmetic and elementary algebra,” explained Dr. Rhonda Richards, senior vice president for academic affairs.
The courses will be segmented into nine modules and students will work in a self paced, on-line program.
“The proposed redesign will enhance the quality of the course content and delivery by providing students with a seamless progression from one level to another and enabling them to work in a self-paced environment with instructor and tutor support available on-demand,” she noted.
An added benefit is that the math redesign will produce cost savings for students by the use of electronic textbooks and by the potential to reduce the number of times students repeat math courses and pay additional tuition to do so.
WVU Parkersburg will be expected to pilot its redesign plans in spring 2011 and fully implement the project in fall 2011.
NCAT is an independent non-profit organization dedicated to the effective use of information technology to improve student learning outcomes and reduce the cost of higher education. NCAT provides expertise and support to institutions and organizations seeking proven methods for providing more students with the education they need to prosper in today’s economy.
