Wayne State University drops math requirement. May replace it with diversity credit.

[Aquapod770]

http://www.michigancapitolconfidential.com/22537


Out of all the stupid things that have happened recently...this may be the stupidest.

[SunsetBengal]

Wow, I guess some won't realize that their heading the wrong direction, until their car rolls off the cliff.

[BmorePat87]

Some clarification. They found that their current math requirement was being met by most students in high school. Individual programs still have math requirements. The drop will last until 2018 or when they update the requirement to something more appropriate.

Adding a diversity credit is a whole separate proposal unrelated to the math changes.

[*bfine32*]

So is the synopsis that: Our math course is too easy so we're going to replace it with a diversity course?

[*Nately120*]

Meh, it sort of makes sense that a country of immigrants that has been steadily moving towards more service jobs and less manufacturing ones would emphasize diversity (whatever that means) over math. I'm more likely to run into a trans minority tomorrow than I am to run into a quadratic equation, after all.

[JustWinBaby]

I'd be curious to see how the "diversity course" is executed. I'm a big believer in its value, but not if the course is just going to be about micro aggressions, white privilege, victimization and the aggrieved.

[Aquapod770]

(06-27-2016, 12:23 AM)BmorePat87 Wrote: Some clarification. They found that their current math requirement was being met by most students in high school. Individual programs still have math requirements. The drop will last until 2018 or when they update the requirement to something more appropriate.

Adding a diversity credit is a whole separate proposal unrelated to the math changes.

One college level math class should be a requirement for almost every major. Especially if I'm required to take a diversity credit or plenty of other BS classes unrelated to my major.

[Au165]

Just doesn't seem like a big deal. Let the departments decide what is needed and move on. Most the math I use in real life is from high school anyways. If it wasn't in the same article as the diversity credit I don't think many people would complain about getting rid of redundancy and letting individual departments set the standards.

[Benton]

(06-27-2016, 09:15 AM)Au165 Wrote: Just doesn't seem like a big deal. Let the departments decide what is needed and move on. Most the math I use in real life is from high school anyways. If it wasn't in the same article as the diversity credit I don't think many people would complain about getting rid of redundancy and letting individual departments set the standards.

That's my thinking. At first it sounds like a big deal, but to me it didn't make a lot of sense to have some of the mandated math classes I had in college for a fine art degree. With the career I went into (journalism) the only math is how man inches your story is.

[Aquapod770]

(06-27-2016, 10:34 AM)Benton Wrote: That's my thinking. At first it sounds like a big deal, but to me it didn't make a lot of sense to have some of the mandated math classes I had in college for a fine art degree. With the career I went into (journalism) the only math is how man inches your story is.

Yes, but they mandate "art" classes for STEM majors. I agree let the departments decide. Get rid of all campus-wide mandated classes then. Someone majoring in theoretical physics really doesn't need a class on sociology or urban education.

[Au165]

(06-27-2016, 10:47 AM)Aquapod770 Wrote: Yes, but they mandate "art" classes for STEM majors. I agree let the departments decide. Get rid of all campus-wide mandated classes then. Someone majoring in theoretical physics really doesn't need a class on sociology or urban education.

That's fair enough. I'd argue some of the art classes are about making a better rounded person, but would be okay with going strictly degree based classes. Maybe we can get people through college quicker and cut down on costs.......HAHA yea right they'd never let that happen.

[Belsnickel]

(06-27-2016, 10:47 AM)Aquapod770 Wrote: Yes, but they mandate "art" classes for STEM majors. I agree let the departments decide. Get rid of all campus-wide mandated classes then. Someone majoring in theoretical physics really doesn't need a class on sociology or urban education.

The problem comes into play with that when a student is undeclared (they often don't have to declare until after their first year) or if they switch their majors, which happens a lot. Even just a switch between majors in a department can change the requirements tremendously. If you make the requirements differ depending on the department and/or major, then the students have to declare earlier and run the risk, then, of having even more issues with requirements changes which leads to longer time in school and, as a consequence, more student debt.

Lots of issues to consider for these sorts of things.

[Benton]

(06-27-2016, 10:47 AM)Aquapod770 Wrote: Yes, but they mandate "art" classes for STEM majors. I agree let the departments decide. Get rid of all campus-wide mandated classes then. Someone majoring in theoretical physics really doesn't need a class on sociology or urban education.

Understood. I guess my only issue there is there's a lot less exposure to the arts and humanities in public education now. 

[Rotobeast]

(06-27-2016, 10:47 AM)Aquapod770 Wrote: Someone majoring in theoretical physics really doesn't need a class on sociology or urban education.

Do you know many physicists ?

Trust me, the majority NEED Sociology.


On topic....
It is possible that most people were testing out of their required math course.
Why keep someone on the payroll for it when there is no real demand ?

[Belsnickel]

(06-27-2016, 12:24 PM)Rotobeast Wrote: Do you know many physicists ?

Trust me, the majority NEED Sociology.

Might be why MIT and CalTech require humanities/social sciences classes for their undergraduate degrees.

[Millhouse]

Why not replace it with something that can actually be useful, like a mandatory class on managing one's credit, equity, morgages, and basic investing. Granted those things should be taught in high school imo, because those are real world things that effect everyone one of us as we get older.

[Au165]

(06-27-2016, 01:27 PM)Millhouse Wrote: Why not replace it with something that can actually be useful, like a mandatory class on managing one's credit, equity, morgages, and basic investing. Granted those things should be taught in high school imo, because those are real world things that effect everyone one of us as we get older.

If they did this half of them would realize how badly they are getting screwed by the college offering the class.

[BmorePat87]

(06-27-2016, 12:34 AM)bfine32 Wrote: So is the synopsis that: Our math course is too easy so we're going to replace it with a diversity course?

No. Our math requirement was already being met, we're going to replace it by 2018. Also let's add a diversity credit.

[Bengalzona]

(06-27-2016, 10:34 AM)Benton Wrote: That's my thinking. At first it sounds like a big deal, but to me it didn't make a lot of sense to have some of the mandated math classes I had in college for a fine art degree. With the career I went into (journalism) the only math is how man inches your story is.

I got an arts degree at a liberal arts college and I was required to take a single math course. The most basic course they offered was an Algebra II class, which I had already taken twice (once in high school and once in the Army to get a transferable credit... which the stupid university didn't accept because of some accreditation differences). So I signed up for this course thinking it should be a cakewalk. Except it wasn't because never showed up to the class, never did my homework and, on the rare occasion I did show up, I slept through the whole class. It was mind-numbingly boring. Then, I got smart. I dropped the stupid class and just tested out of the requirement. 

And today, I'm like, "Why did I put myself through all of that anyway?"   

[BmorePat87]

Since we're in the subject of math in college, I took Calc and Stats in high school. I had taken Algebra II my freshmen year. Well my placement exams were based on algebra II math that I hadn't done in almost 4 years. Needless to say, I had to take their "college algebra" course before I could take pre Calc (the general Ed requirement). It was beyond frustrating retaking math that I remembered as soon as I was doing it again.