For students who will continue or begin their education at LMC or are planning to attend a CSU in the Fall 2018, a math requirement change may be to your benefit.

            Wednesday, Aug. 2, CSU Chancellor Timothy White issued an executive order to change the mandatory intermediate algebra requirements for CSU’s. This change will take away that mandatory course requirement for non-math majors and will instead have other math courses available to fulfill the requirement.

            The intermediate algebra requirement for CSU’s has been in place for many years and with the new policy going into effect by Fall 2018 many students will be alleviated from the stress of having to complete the course.

            This change can provide students with flexibility in their math requirements as they will no longer need to take intermediate algebra but could instead focus their studies in a course that will benefit them.

            However this alternative math pathway does not entirely change which majors do and do not have to complete math requirements. All students who are transferring their major to a CSU must still complete a math requirement to fulfill their category, however due to the change, they no longer must take the specific intermediate algebra course.

            CSU Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs Loren Blanchard, believes that this change, while making the process easier for students, will continue to uphold the high caliber of CSU.

            “This suite of changes maintains the quality and rigor of the CSU while enabling tens of thousands of students to get needed academic support while progressing toward their degree,” said Blanchard.

            Between the winter of 2017 and the fall of 2018, LMC along with other community colleges across California, will be submitting courses that will fulfill the math requirement.

            While this change may seem to only benefit non-math majors, Ryan Pedersen, LMC Interim Dean of Math and Sciences, believes that it also has a positive effect on students who are math focused.

            “For students majoring in disciplines that are not algebraically intensive, it allows us to offer them mathematically rigorous experiences that are more relevant to their current and future courses and jobs,” explained Pedersen. “For students in more algebraically intensive programs, such as Math or Science, we can further tailor their math curriculum to meet their specific needs. Because of this, I believe that this change is a win for both student success and mathematical literacy at the same time.”

            While this change benefits many students, it will definitely affect the math departments across all CSU and California community colleges. Due to the change, teachers will have to adapt and adjust their curriculum.

            Aware of this effect, White stated that he “supports faculty innovation in curriculum and facilitates equitable opportunity for first-year students to succeed through existing and redesigned education models” in his Executive Order.

            Some math teachers at LMC are excited for this new change in the math curriculum and have already began to implement changes into their curriculum.

            For those who have already completed the math requirement, this Executive Order will have no effect. However for future students who have not taken intermediate algebra, this change could drastically affect their academic success.

            “I think this is a great move by CSU that will benefit our LMC students in a wide variety of courses of study,” said Pedersen.