- Boise State University was awarded the 2023 Degree Completion award from the Association of Public Land Grants Universities.
- BSU was recognized for its innovative way of retaining students through its math courses.
- This initiative includes online programming, student and advisor relationships, relevance and problem-solving, and self-efficacy.
(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)
Technology is changing every day, affecting the way we live and learn.
I’m your Boise Bench neighborhood reporter Jessica Davis at Boise State, where they're receiving recognition for their approach to teaching math.
Modern schooling relies less on lectures and textbooks and more on the use of technology.
To do that BSU is using an online learning program, named Aleks, which allows students to pace themselves through math courses, essentially learning on their own time.
Kelly Myers Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education and Student Success at Boise State, says, “They have experiences in our math learning center where they realize oh my gosh I can do math.”
And it appears to be working.
The University was recently awarded the degree completion award from the Association of Public and Land-Grants Universities, for showcasing their improvement to introductory math courses.
The idea of which is to increase student success.
President of APLU, Mark Becker joined BSU staff members and members of the Idaho State Department of Education, on Thursday, February 29th, to recognize and congratulate Boise State on their success.
"That was the whole impetus for the work here at Boise State, I think as far back as 2005 looking at why students were leaving the university and one of the barriers was getting through those math requirements,” Becker says.
Despite the national recognition, the program is also getting mixed reviews from students.
"I think some people don't like it because it's so time-consuming, but I personally like to take my time, so I'm slow and I feel like it allows me to be slow and work through everything that I have to, says Kaleigh Alameda, a sophomore at Boise State.
Another sophomore, Benjamin Freeman, likes Aleks and the setup of his class, he says, "I really like my professor, pretty much he goes over some of the big fundamental topics because we use Aleks for most of the topics but some of the bigger things like regressions and stuff like that.”
Grad student Noah Cross tutors math students and says he recognizes the good work of the program, but feels there's still some work to do.
He says, “I think BSU needs to massively change how they teach algebra up until calculus."
As a tutor, he sees students every day who need a little extra support and says they should spend more time in the classroom.
"We need to go more back to a lecture-based program-oriented teaching program because it's just so much better if a professor is helping the students understand what they're doing instead of the students asking the internet what they're doing,” says Cross.
Although there are mixed reviews about the math classes, the recent award shows that BSU is setting an example as a model and inspiration for other public universities across the country.
"That comes from working with the instructors, working with the advisors, working with our tutors, and working with each other. It's the system where they all help each other see we can do this,” said Kelly Myers.
BSU says that back in 2005 they found that early academic success could predict the future of a student. Which is why that comprehensive system was made for support and retention.
