A variety of different math courses are available for students to take at STLCC
BY: BRENDAN SMITH
Staff Writer
Getting credit requirements is a major focus in college, with one of the subjects that tends to loom over the rest being mathematics. The math pathway is vast and somewhat overwhelming, seemingly without a solid starting point for new students, but depending on the major of the student, they might find certain ones more useful.
“You only need to go to get pre-calculus or the 160 if you are going into STEM so I highly recommend that,” Professor Aletta Speegle said. “If students have majors in these categories [Social Sciences, Health Sciences, Criminal Justice] that they take either the 180 statistics or [Liberal Arts, Fine Arts, Humanities] the 161 quantitative reasoning.”
These classes also have support versions. The classes are five credit hours, however only three of the hours count towards the degree. The extra time is in place to help students get through the class while understanding the subject. These subjects are still not for everyone however, so it’s important to understand some struggles before going in.
“I teach those foundational forces, I’ve seen a lot of folks come in who genuinely have no idea what they walked into,” Professor Nancy Molik said. “The students that have had IEPs or have disabilities, talk to the Access Office, and get that stuff squared away ASAP, because I have a disability, and it’s really important to make sure that as early as possible in the semester that they can get, like the extended time and all those things that you need in order to not get stuck by the end of the first month.”
While those struggles are there, preparedness goes a long way. If students are sufficiently prepared, the math pathways have a lot to offer when looking at post-college career opportunities. Such as nursing, business, and engineering.
“You can go into science, technology, engineering. Most of the students that we have here at Meramec, if they take calculus, they’re usually going into engineering. We have a few go into computer science,” Speegle said. “But also if through nursing, it depends on some nursing programs, you just need the Intermediate Algebra. Usually for business, you also need the more robust algebra part of the STEM pathway.”
Hopefully Meramec’s mathematics pathway is a course of study students feel comfortable with. There are a lot of on campus resources that can help anyone that feels as though they’re falling behind.
“Definitely use the tutoring center. It’s such a great resource,” second year student Mae Ryan said, “Don’t put it off until the next test. You’ll be in there and in the test and forget how to do something. I know it happens to me. It’s just better to know more things.”
