Math 1010's poor passing rate discussed at student senate

The student senate, quite literally, sweated it out on Monday. In Room 352 of the Student Union Building, there was a malfunction with the room's heater: it wouldn't turn off. A fan was employed to circulate out the warm air, but that was rendered useless due to construction. The windows had to be shut in order to hear whoever was speaking, preventing the circulation of winter air. Dixilee Blackinton, Weber State University math instructor specialist, brought up an ongoing issue at Weber State. According to Blackinton, the pass rate for Math 1010 fluctuates between 43-58 percent. "(We've) tried everything," Blackinton explained. "It has not yet yielded the success rates we had hoped." One of the methods employed is the disallowance of calculators in developmental math. According to Blackinton, this is beneficial, in that it teaches a person a vital skill for math that a calculator does not have: factoring. There is also a criteria being developed for a Director for the Developmental Math Department, in hopes that it will lend some direction and help out. Business and Economics Senator Aaron Cleveland also mentioned that they raised $270, at $2 per person, during business emphasis week with the "Pie the Professor" activity. Applied Science and Technology Senator Chris Lim brought up the issue of pass/fail, in regard to class grading. According to Social and Behavioral Sciences Senator Jason Stout, the range of pass/fail, compared to letter grading, is from a D- to C. A couple of proposals and research projects were also presented during the Senate meeting. A bill was presented by Education Senator Brett Jones to reward outstanding students in each college discipline. Hispanic Students Senator Irma Hernandez gave an update on both research on the Last Lecture series, as well as the teaching and learning assessment team project. Also, environmental issues forum will be meeting Thursday at 2 p.m. A couple of bills were passed: BA06-28, BA06-29, BA-34, and RA06-02. Bill 29 was for making the minutes available online (at http://weberstudents.org); Bill 34 was for collecting student opinion to develop an issues forum that addresses student issues; Bill 02 consolidated the two names of Weber's Weber State Campus from Ogden and Main campus to "Ogden Campus." Lastly, as of Oct. 23, 2006, Christine Overton, the former Native American senator, resigned office due to personal reasons.

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