Chapter Two Appendices Academic Program Profiles
Description, Mission and Values
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- Unit Governance, Leadership, and Faculty
- Courses and programs offered
- Assessment and Effectiveness
- Major Changes and Significant Trends
- Department Resources, Strengths, and Limiting Factors
- Plans for the Future
Description, Mission and Values:The Dixie State College Mathematics Department’s mission is to help students achieve their academic, career, and life goals, including those related to basic computational skills, mathematical processes, and knowledge that develop real-life applications, modeling and problem solving. The Department's comprehensive and integrated offerings help students to master mathematical competencies for future career and educational endeavors. Dixie State’s mission to offer baccalaureate programs “in core or foundational areas consistent with four-year colleges” mandates that the College deliver a degree in mathematics as one of the disciplines most profoundly instrumental to development of skills in quantitative reasoning, logic, analysis, and critical thinking, which are widely recognized skills at the heart of education. A robust mathematics program is essential in preparing the students in other programs such as nursing and allied health careers, business, accounting and finance, and computer science and information technology. Students well- trained in these areas are vitally important to the economic health of the community, and providing this positive community impact is consistent with a key element of DSC’s mission, to “meet the demands of business and industry . . . and provide leadership and support to economic development” (DSC Mission, 2005). Unit Governance, Leadership, and Faculty:Administrative Leadership: The administrative leadership for the mathematics department is led by a mathematics chair and a dean over our assigned school, School of Science and Technology, both with Ph.D. degrees. Faculty: The mathematics faculty at DSC is composed of qualified, experienced, and diverse professors. Existing mathematics faculty includes four members with Ph.D. degrees. Full time faculty includes five masters-prepared faculty members whose combined teaching experience at Dixie State totals nearly eighty years. There are individuals holding doctoral degrees in each sub-discipline. All adjunct faculty are mastered prepared instructors. Staff: The mathematics department has a part time lecturer/advisor to provide academic advisement and counseling; likewise, secretarial and clerical support is provided under the current departmental structure.
Courses and programs offered:The Department's comprehensive and integrated offerings help students to master mathematical competencies for future career and educational endeavors. Courses are taught ranging from Intermediate Algebra to rigorous upper- division classes which lead to a baccalaureate degree in Mathematics or Mathematics Education, both offered here locally at Dixie State. A full listing of Math course offering can be found at http://www.dixie.edu/math/coursesnew.php. The DSC Mathematics degree is designed to meet the needs of those students who wish to acquire certain mathematical skills in pursuit of challenging career paths, as well as the needs of students who love mathematics and wish to seek graduate level study in mathematics and related fields. The mathematics baccalaureate is an appropriate degree for students preparing for careers in actuarial science, computer programming and statistical analysis, operations research, data encryption systems design, engineering, and secondary or higher education, among many other careers. The DSC Mathematics Education degree is targeted toward the following students: new freshmen at Dixie State College who wish to obtain secondary education licensure and who wish to teach mathematics; current teachers in the WCSD and outlying areas such as Kane County who need additional courses to meet USOE endorsement requirements; and individuals having baccalaureate degrees and higher who have relocated to Washington County and who wish to meet the requirements for secondary teacher licensure in the State of Utah. Assessment and Effectiveness:Faculty and advisors will monitor students' progress and satisfaction through such traditional indicators as GPA, enrollment numbers, retention, senior surveys at graduation and the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) results, Educational Testing Services Math Majors Field Test (Math majors), appropriate Praxis testing (Math Education Majors), Value Added Skills Assessment (General), and required periodic one-on-one meetings with students. Other quantitative and qualitative indicators, such as the number and quality of undergraduate research projects undertaken by majors, will be tracked and analyzed to assess the execution of program goals. Learning Outcomes: Students will perform mathematical processes including fractions, percentages, decimals, ratio/proportions, algebraic equations, and/or calculus techniques Students will work with application problems that use a variety of methods including arithmetical, algebraic, and/or geometric methods Students will be able to make inferences from mathematical models that include formulas, graphs, and tables Students will be able to apply mathematical functions to real-life situations. The level of sophistication and maturity of thinking expected of college students in the area of mathematics must extend their aptitude for quantitative reasoning beyond routine problem solving. This reasoning will allow the student to handle problem situations of greater complexity and diversity and lead them to an ability to mathematically analyze ideas both within and outside of mathematics. Plans for improvement: To meet these goals, courses in mathematics will require students to complete, at a minimum, the following: Homework assignments that demonstrate understanding of the appropriate mathematical topics and concepts Take examinations that measure retention of course materials and require at least some use of formulas, graphs, and tables, as well as, real life application Participate in a significant number of lectures, classroom discussions and other in-class activities in order to improve problem-solving skills. Math Department Learning Outcomes Math Department Assessments Major Changes and Significant Trends:Demand for mathematics educators is brisk, both regionally and nationally. In fact, the regional demand for secondary teachers is such that the Washington County School District (WCSD) included mathematics as one of four specially requested degrees. Additionally, during the fall 2009 semester, the mathematics department surveyed students in all courses, MATH 1210 or above. Of 230 students surveyed, 80 students indicated that they would be likely to major or would seriously consider majoring in Mathematics or Math Education. Department Resources, Strengths, and Limiting Factors:Library Resources: The Browning library currently has ample titles in mathematics itself, with additional titles in mathematics education and an abundance of titles in secondary education. Many of the resources in the library are electronic offerings. Journals in mathematics and math education are on the library shelves, and videos and CDs are also available. The Browning Library is committed to supporting baccalaureate programs by ordering any material requested. Student Advisement: The Mathematics Department recognizes that advisement is crucial to student success. The program faculty is in the process of developing an advisement protocol that will guide students from the time they declare the mathematics major through to graduation. Each student will be assigned a faculty mentor, with the Math lecturer/advisor taking the primary advisement role. Faculty: The mathematics faculty at DSC is composed of qualified, experienced, and diverse professors. Existing mathematics faculty includes four members with Ph.D. degrees. Full-time faculty includes five masters-prepared faculty members whose combined teaching experience at Dixie State totals nearly eighty years. Plans for the Future:The Math Department is committed to continuing the forward momentum of mathematics education at Dixie State College. With the implementation of the Mathematics and Mathematics Education degrees, we look forward to the knowledge and experience that accompany student growth. We will press forward in offering a supreme and strong foundation in mathematics education. At this time, the mathematics department is preparing to advertise for one additional full-time faculty member with a terminal degree, and it will hire a second new Ph.D. faculty member to replace a masters-prepared faculty member who will be retiring within the next two years. As the program matures, additional faculty may be needed to accommodate growth.
Department Chair: Peter Van Valkenburg Contact Information: Science Building 134 Phone: 435-652-7769 Directory: wp-content -> uploads -> sites sites -> 587 Return function, r i(X) r i(0) r i(1) r i(2) r i(3) 1 0 2 4 6 Thermal Station, I 2 0 1 5 6 3 0 3 5 6 10 sites -> Medical Radiography Program sites -> Background on the Haitian Earthquake sites -> Desk review yemen sites -> Safe Transitions for the Elderly Patient (step) sites -> District profile Haripur Introduction sites -> Germanie VanTrease and Tyler Tetzloff sites -> For more information sites -> To be completed by the cerf secretariat. Type of submission sites -> Sponsor Content Above the Clutter with Pete Krainik Download 3.94 Mb. Share with your friends:
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