Mathematics and Statistics

Master of Science in Mathematical Science(97)

Contact Person:
Dr. Xiaoshen Wang
Mathematics and Statistics Department
(501) 569-8112
xxwang@ualr.edu

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS AT LITTLE ROCK Plan No. 97
Assessment Progress Report Form - Calendar Year 2004

I. USE OF ASSESSMENT FOR PROGRAM BUILDING AND IMPROVEMENT:

1. Findings of the past twelve months, assessment activities

The Department of Mathematics and Statistics uses seven assessment instruments to assess the M.S. in Mathematical Sciences program. These instruments are the written comprehensive exam, the oral comprehensive exam, presentations in course work, the student portfolio, the alumni survey, the employer survey, and professional association reports.

Breadth and Depth: Four students took the written comprehensive exam in 2004. The written comprehensive exam covered all four of the core courses: Advanced Differential Equations; Advanced Linear Algebra; Advanced Numerical Analysis I; and Mathematical Statistics I.

Click here to see Exam Results

Depth and breadth of knowledge  are two items in the portfolio. The 2004 average scores were 4.6 and 4.5 respectively ( 4 = very good), while the  average scores for 2001, 2002, and  2003 were 4.2 and 4.3 respectively.  The increase is largely due to the  strong performance of  three students. The 2004  scores are summarized in the Table below.

Click here to see Previous Results

Click here to see 2004 Performance

Verbal Communication: The Department of Mathematics and Statistics uses verbal communication skills as part of our M.S. program assessment for 2004. Four students had an oral comprehensive exam. The comprehensive exam was graded by the student’s committee.

2003 is the first year every student is required to take oral exam. We see some improvement. These results are summarized in the table below.

Click here to see Oral Exam Results

2. Using assessment findings to improve the program

The graduate coordinator meets with individual faculty member several times this past year to talk about the improvement of the program. One of the results is that the department is going to require the applicants to take GRE and provide recommendation letters in the future. In addition to being members of the Gold Committee, all of the graduate faculty members have direct contacts with the graduate students. All members of the graduate faculty serve on at least one student’s graduate committee and many serve on several committees. The duties of the committee include reviewing and grading portfolios, reviewing the student’s thesis/project, should the student elect to do a thesis/project, reviewing the grades of the comprehensive exams, grading the student’s oral presentation, and reviewing and commenting on the student’s annual progress. The table below lists the graduate faculty and the number of student graduate committees they on.

Click here to see Faculty Committee Numbers

Furthermore, the members of the graduate faculty create and the grade the written comprehensive exam. Each section of the written comprehensive exam is composed by the faculty members who teach the relevant core course. Each section is then graded by at least two faculty members who have expertise in that area. Members of the graduate faculty are also required to attend each student’s oral comprehensive exam. The student’s graduate committee evaluates the candidate’s performance.

II. FACULTY AND STAKE HOLDER INVOLVEMENT:

1. Involvement of the faculty in the assessment process.

In the Fall 2002 semester, the Department created a Colloquium Committee consisting of the graduate coordinator, a non-tenured faculty member and a graduate student. The charge of the committee was to increase participation in departmental colloquia. The Colloquium Committee recommended that the department have at least five presentations each semester: a presentation from a faculty member; a skills development workshop; a presentation from a member of the local community; a presentation from a graduate student; a presentation from an undergraduate student.

Each student is required to form a graduate committee during the candidate’s first semester. The student chooses the Chair of the committee and one other graduate professor to be a member. The graduate coordinator chooses the third member of a student’s committee. The Graduate Student Advisory Committee consists of three graduate students. The charge of the Graduate Student Advisory Committee is to provide feedback on the quality of the M.S. program in Mathematical Sciences. The Graduate Student Advisory Committee will meet with the graduate coordinator at least once per semester. The graduate students have met informally with the graduate faculty during the past and discussed the program. The Graduate Student Advisory Committee revised verbal rubric in 2004 and also provided some ideas on how to improve the program.

Alumni and Employers are involved through surveys. The last year that survey data was collected was 2001. We had a low rate of return for the surveys. Members of the department have discussed the low rate of return and recommend that the survey be conducted by the University as a whole.

III. APPROACH:

1.     Program goals. The primary mission of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock is to serve the educational needs of central Arkansas and, in particular, to offer programs and services that meet the special needs of its diverse student body in its metropolitan location. The M.S. degree in Mathematical Sciences, offered through the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, is consistent with this mission. The goals of the program are

a.    To develop advanced modeling and problem solving skills.

b.   To prepare our students to enter a Ph.D. program in mathematics, statistics, or applied mathematics.

c.    To prepare our students to be employed and act in a consulting capacity on matters concerning mathematics and statistics.

2.   Program objectives. It is expected that all students receiving the Master of Science degree in Mathematical Sciences from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock will possess knowledge and skills in the following areas:

a.   Mathematical Software. Each candidate for the M.S. in Mathematical Sciences will demonstrate a proficiency in mathematical software. In particular, each candidate will demonstrate a working knowledge of the mathematical software packages Maple and SAS. These skills will help the student

b.   Communication. Each candidate for the M.S. degree will have communication skills necessary to ex­press mathematical ideas in oral and written forms, to use the language and sym­bolism of mathematics, and to present mathematical concepts, proofs, and solutions of problems in an ap­propriate manner

c.   Breadth and Depth. Each candidate for the M.S. degree will develop a breadth of mathematical knowledge beyond the bachelor degree. Furthermore, each student will develop a deeper an understanding in one area of specialization.

3.   Methods used to measure objectives assessed this year. This year, the department assessed program objectives (2a) through (2c).  The following table gives the instruments that were used to evaluate each of these objectives.  (WCE = Written Comprehensive Exam, PC = Presentation in Coursework, OCE = Oral Comprehensive Exam.)

Click here to see Program Objective Assessment Instruments

4.   Changes resulting from assessment feedback and future plans. As  results from feedback on the assessment of the graduate program, we have  made and plan to make  some changes as listed below.

a.   We assigned mentors and give training sessions for new graduate TA’s.

b.   Faculty members will give graduate students guided rehearsals before their formal presentation.

c.   We added some material to our website to attract good students.

d.   We planed to add some admission requirements such as GRE and letters of recommendations.

5.   Timeline for future assessment activities. The following table gives the timeframe for future assessment activities.  Because they involve relatively small population sizes, the alumni and employer surveys will be conducted every three years, (2004, 2007,…), and will involve more than one graduating class. The graduate committee for a given student will be formed by the end of that student’s first semester. Once a year, in the spring, the candidate’s committee will evaluate the candidate’s portfolio. The written and oral comprehensive exams are given on demand.

Click here to see Future Assessment Timeframes