A Cornerstone for Student Success
Learn more about the Math Learning Center’s innovative practices and award-winning outcomes for supporting student success in mathematics at Boise State.
MLC Student Resources
Changing Math Mindsets
“Helping students excel in math is vital if we are to increase graduation rates and meet workforce demands…”
Dr. Marlene Tromp
Former Boise State President
Top of the class
Boise State’s Math Learning Center is named the greatest student success program in the country by the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities. Closed captions are available and a text transcript is provided on the page after the media player.
Video Transcript: APLU Honors Boise State’s Math Learning Center
Dr. Marlene Tromp, President, Boise State University: Mark Becker, the president of the APLU, was in town to recognize Boise State for having the greatest student success program in the country this year. That is our Math Learning Center.
Mark Becker, President, Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities: We have way too many students who start college, don’t finish, and that’s why we emphasize this work. There’s a lot of room for progress nationally, and we look for institutions who are really finding innovative ways to bring down the barriers to students completing their degrees and helping them on to their own success.
Dr. Marlene Tromp: What we’ve seen with that math learning center is, it doesn’t just help students in that first math class they take, what we call the Gateway Math Class. It helps students perform better in their next math class when they’re not even in the Math Learning Center anymore. And it helps students perform better in all of their classes. So we’re seeing students through to graduation.
Mark Becker: The Boise State community should be incredibly proud of this award, and particularly more than the award, the actual success of the students.
Dr. Marlene Tromp: What we saw as a problem for our students ten years ago inspired us to create the Math Learning Center, and that is paying incredible dividends. To move the needle on graduation rate, one and a half percent is a big deal. In the last five years, we’ve increased our graduation rate a staggering 39%. To move the needle that much in that time means that we are making a difference for our students and we are helping them succeed.
Rising Success Rates
Boise State’s Math Learning Center increased success in early math for all students and achieved substantially higher retention and graduation rates.
75%
72%
75%
Six Key Innovations in the MLC
Self-efficacy
The first innovation is based on the belief that success in math classes requires not only successful math content delivery; it also requires self-efficacy, i.e., students must believe that they can be successful in mathematics.
ALEKS software
The second innovation utilizes the ability of ALEKS software to enable students to proceed at an individually-appropriate pace and to do so in a system that maintains contact with the instructor and structures student time to develop math skills and academic skills such as time management required for the university setting.
Student success advisors
The third innovation is that the MLC has its own student success advisor. That advisor identifies students who are struggling through ALEKS, then alerts instructors to encourage and help students to get back on track.
Promoting academic success
The fourth innovation focuses on fostering overall academic success, with a particular emphasis on cultivating the academic skills crucial for transitioning from a high school to a college mindset.
Problem solving
The fifth innovation is a focus on relevance and problem solving guided by the instructor, utilizing peer learning.
New course development
The final innovation is the development of two new courses: MATH 103 Mathematical Transition for Success, and MATH 133 Elementary Models with Functions.