Case Studies
Montgomery College
In 2003, faculty at Montgomery College in Conroe, Texas (MC), weren’t satisfied with student pass rates. In an effort to improve those rates, they sought studentand instructor-friendly courseware with authoring flexibility and a high level of customer service. It was a tall order.The school researched the options—and it purchased MyMathLab.
The built-in flexibility of MyMathLab courseware enables the faculty at MC to tailor developmental math assessments and courses for copying and standardization throughout the college. In addition, MML saves instructors valuable time by facilitating scores of required outcome assessments.
But the most-talked-about MML component at MC is MML’s customer service. “This is a number one priority for us,” says Maureen Loiacano,Math and Education Department Chair. “[MML customer service representatives] are incredibly responsive. Every call we make reaches a live person. Any problems are immediately resolved. Our day-to-day support questions and our long-range developmental requests are heard—and heeded. It’s customer service of the highest quality.”
In any given semester, all 2,400 of MC’s developmental math students are using MML. All have adapted to the nontraditional format. Loiacano attributes this to comprehensive faculty training: first by the staff at Pearson and now by MC’s own department trainers. “The instructors are confident, adaptable leaders,” she says. “They feel good about the software, and the students pick up on that.”
Spring 2005 pass rates among students using MML were significantly higher in college algebra—18 percent higher—than those of the previous semester, in which MML had not been used. The jump from 55 percent to 73 percent has Loiacano, the rest of the faculty at MC, and the students eager for more.
Students are motivated by the guided solutions, by the ability to immediately see what they did wrong. Students are taking responsibility for and ownership of their learning. Students’ conversations have turned from weekend activities to study tips. Math labs are crowded at the beginning of the semester, not just at test time. Students know what works for them—in a spring 2005 survey, an overwhelming 75 percent said that MML helped them improve their grade.
MC has attained a new level of communication between faculty and students and between faculty and trainers. “Everyone is accountable and knows what they need to do,” says Loiacano. “ Students are learning. They’re happy.We love it!”
