Department of Higher Education

New options for college math requirements in Missouri will be the focus of a symposium Sept. 8 for educators and academic advisors in the Kansas City area and northwest region of the state.

The Missouri Department of Higher Education will host the regional symposium from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Metropolitan Community College-Penn Valley. Faculty and advisors from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, University of Central Missouri, Missouri Western State University, Northwest Missouri State University, North Central Missouri College and Metropolitan Community College, as well as counselors from area high schools, are expected to attend.

Missouri Math Pathways Regional Symposiums are also planned for Springfield, Moberly, Cape Girardeau and St. Louis.

For decades, college algebra has been the required math course for most degree programs.  This fall, a majority of Missouri’s public colleges and universities rolled out new math requirements for a number of degrees, including English, business and history.

“The symposiums will offer educators an opportunity to learn more about the math pathways initiative and the benefits to Missouri students,” said Dr. Rusty Monhollon, assistant commissioner for academic affairs at the Department of Higher Education.

The development of new "math pathways" is supported by a growing number of educators nationwide who believe college algebra is not the best math course for many students, depending on the type of degree they are seeking.  

Higher education officials believe more math options will help increase college completion rates, especially for minority and first-generation college students. College algebra has high withdrawal and failure rates and has prevented many students from finishing a degree, Monhollon said.

Degrees in the STEM fields – science, technology, engineering, and math – will continue to require college algebra.

Missouri began work on its Math Pathways initiative in 2014 and was one of five states chosen by the Dana Center at the University of Texas in 2016 to participate in a national project focused on developing alternatives to college algebra for specific degree programs.

The department created a task force of math faculty and advisors from colleges and universities across the state to develop recommendations for math courses based on students’ academic major.

Those recommendations include:

• Statistical reasoning for students whose field of study will require knowledge about collecting, analyzing and interpreting data.
• Mathematical reasoning and modeling for students studying the humanities.
• A series of math courses that focuses on the number system, foundations of algebra, basic geometry, and probability and statistics for elementary education majors.

More information about the Math Pathways initiative can be found at dhe.mo.gov/AAU-Initiatives-MathPathways.php. For more information about the regional symposiums, visit dhe.mo.gov/mathpathwaysregionalmeetings.php.