Memorial University is dispelling some claims made about its decision to make changes to first-year math.
Class sizes are expanding and most of the contractual instructors are being let go. Instead, faculty will be in the classroom.
One of those professors, Dr. Shannon Sullivan, believes that the negative impact on students from all the changes will be enormous, however, the vice-president at MUN disagrees.
Dr. Jennifer Lokash, Provost and VP Academic at MUN, says enrollment in the program is down by about 1,200 students, plus the institution is grappling with reduced funding. She says they do not take lightly any decision not to renew a position.
Further, she says, classes are not doubling in size.
“In one course, the average class will go from 75 up to 112, and in another it will go from 112 to 160,” Lokash told VOCM Open Line.
There are concerns that having classes at 8:00 in the morning and at suppertime will have a negative impact on the student experience, but Lokash says their assessments do not back that up.
Meanwhile, in terms of outcomes, she says about 20 per cent of first-year math students fail their final exam while another 25 per cent have to do a re-do.
“Having full-time faculty teaching math – that may change the outcomes a bit. There are studies that show faculty should be teaching first-year students to kind of bring them into the institution.”
