Unless they are placed in a higher-level math class, undergraduate students must pass the course before graduation. Moving the course out of the classroom and into the computer lab has raised average student scores by one full grade level. The center has 73 computers where students complete homework and take tests. On a recent day, a young woman scribbled notes as she watched a teacher on her computer screen write problems on a chalkboard. This is one of several teaching methods that students can use to learn concepts.
Students also receive a textbook to supplement the material available from the software.
Students who prefer to work at home can install course software onto personal computers, but they must spend some time in the lab each week and go there for the course's five examinations. The format is modeled after a program at Virginia Tech. UA faculty visited several schools when the department received funding from Pew Charitable Trusts. The university competed with 155 schools nationwide to receive one of 10 grants. A pilot computerized course last spring showed a 15 percent increase in student test scores and a decrease in the failure rate from 50 percent to 25 percent.