UNDERGRADUATE STUDIES COMMITTEE MINUTES
2002:Feb 5, Mar 5, Apr 2, Sept 23, Oct 30, Dec 4
19 February 2003
Members Present: Larson (chair), Lima-Filho, Lowe, Mogilevsky, Pilant, Stecher
Members Absent: Hensley
Special Guests: David Manuel, Thomas Schlumprecht
The meeting began at 10:00 a.m. There were eight topics put up for discussion: FastTrack Program, Department Honors Program, Freshman Faculty Mentors Program, Syllabus for Math 171 sequence, Math/Science Summer Camp, APMS Actuarial/Finance "Major of the Month", Recruiting, and Career Fair. Below is a summary of each.
FastTrack Program. A subcommittee manned by Drs. Schlumprecht, Larson, and Stecher developed a formal plan to implement a Math FastTrack Combined BS/MS Degree Program and presented the committee with a handout describing the program. The program is patterned after the Engineering and Business FastTrack programs with the student receiving his BS after 3.5 years and the Masters after 1.5 years, ideally. The requirements for entrance into the program, the incentive of a graduate teaching assistantship (GTA), and the number of credit by exam hours to be allowed were discussed. After a discussion, the maximum number of credit by exam hours was changed from six to seven hours. The committee made no other changes to the plan and it will be forwarded to the Associate Head, Dr. Michael Pilant for approval. The handout in PDF will be posted on the Undergraduate Program website under "Special Programs". The handout can be printed from the link found at: http://www.math.tamu.edu/teaching/undergrad/programsFrame.html
Department Honors Program. Dr. Pilant presented a written proposal for a Departmental Honors Program to the committee. An Honors Advisory Committee composed of Dr. Mike Pilant (Chair), Dr. Sue Geller, Dr. Harold Boas, Dr. Jay Walton, and Dr. David Larson has been formed to oversee the implementation of the program. Dr. Pilant stated the Departmental Honors distinction will be comprised of 24 hours of math honors courses, and completion of one of the following: a) a senior thesis, or b) 6 hours of VIGRE courses, or c) 6 hours of graduate credit. Dr. Pilant also explained that Departmental Honors will not appear on a student's transcripts, but the student would receive a certificate signed by the Honors Program and the Department Head. Dr. Pilant proposed that an honors "seminar" course be established to encourage more interaction among the students participating in the program. Ideally, the program will begin in Fall 2003 with 10-15 freshman, including some Engineering majors, who move through the program under the guidance of a faculty mentor. The plan is to recruit the best students from the High School Math Contest, as well as students who attend the honors orientation conferences each summer. The Advisory Committee also plans to develop a brochure describing the program.
Freshman Faculty Mentors Program. Dr. Larson introduced the idea of assigning a faculty mentor to incoming freshman. Initially, he recommends piloting the program by assigning mentors to all math scholarship recipients and Departmental Honors Program students. The mentor would meet with the student periodically and discuss any problems the student is having, etc.
Syllabus for Math 171 sequence. Dr. Stecher circulated a handout describing his proposal for a new syllabus for the Math 171 sequence. He voiced his concern that the current course format does not allow enough time to cover concepts. He suggested two options: increasing the contact hours from 4 to 5 hours per week or discontinuing the Maple lab time and having 4 contact hours in which concepts, definitions and theorems are covered. After a brief discussion it was decided to table the issue at this time.
Math/Science Summer Camp. Dr. Stecher announced that the Math/Science Summer Camp will be held on July 21 - August 1. The courses will be: Math (3), Physics, Chemistry, and Chess. He handed out brochures to all committee members and asked for any suggestions on raising scholarship funds for campers with need.
APMS Actuarial/Finance "Major of the Month". David Manuel reported that the Student Counseling Center has chosen the APMS/Finance degree as their "Major of the Month" for April. They will highlight our major at a presentation on Wednesday, April 9th from 6:00 - 7:00pm in Henderson Hall. They asked for a 10-15 minute preentation and that an advisor be present for a short question and answer session. Dr. Stecher is contacting a former student who might be interested in doing the presentation. The Student Counseling Center will also promote our Math Career Fair in their upcoming newsletter.
Recruiting. Dr. Larson updated the committee on several ongoing recruiting measures, including the production of a poster for mass mailing, the posting of a flyer entitled "Study Math at Texas A&M University" on our website, a mass email that will be sent to a listserv of interested high school students, and a mass mailing to over 150 Texas high schools of material on our program and upcoming events.
Career Fair. Dr. Larson announced that the spring Career Fair will be held on Thursday, April 3 in the afternoon hours. He passed out a list of presenters from last year's fair and added that hopes are to have more on board this year. There will be presentations in the afternoon as well as booths set up in an adjacent room.
The meeting adjourned at 11:30 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Donna L. Hoffman