While number-crunching may come easily to, say, a computer engineering major, other students can be filled with anxiety when they face their first college-level math class. Carryn Bellomo, a mathematical sciences professor, and Clark McCarrell, an adjunct instructor and chair of the UNLV Alumni Association's Scholarship Committee, have firsthand knowledge of the frustrations that some students face.
"Students may be prone to lower confidence levels when they don't feel well-equipped in a subject, and this only heightens the pressure they feel in the very demanding first two years of university life," McCarrell says. "Many of us didn't have a natural affinity for the subject and even those of us who did recognize that math isn't a light area."
To boost the resources available to struggling students, the association recently awarded a $5,000 student-centered project grant to Bellomo to develop a pilot program for students most in need of math support.
"The majority of students in mathematics classrooms are nonmajors, and their apprehension of the subject is well-documented," Bellomo says. "This program will enable us to provide assistance to increase performance and overall academic success."
While UNLV already offers tutoring programs, Bellomo's program will be the only one tailored to specific UNLV math courses and facilitated by math department professors.
"Undergraduates enrolled in lower-level math classes have few options for no-cost and high-quality tutoring," Bellomo explains. "Thanks to the generosity of the UNLV Alumni Association, we will now be able to develop a math department tutoring center."
The UNLV Alumni Association dollars will serve as a seed fund and enable the operation of a 20-hour per week math clinic. Bellomo also will tap into her own math skills to collect and analyze program data and performance statistics. She intends to pursue federal and state agency grants for supplemental underwriting.
Sophomore Shaun Kiss says the program will be especially helpful to students not majoring in math. "Another strength is that Bellomo is in charge of the program. Having been a student in her class, I know her personal involvement and dedication will help reach students on a broader level."
Grant for student-centered programs are a component of the nearly $135,000 in scholarships awarded annually by the UNLV Alumni Association. "One of the greatest joys of our work as a volunteer committee is the ability to recognize extraordinary effort and to invest in the success of our institution and our future alumni," McCarrell says. "It is through the participation of our affiliated members, whose dues support scholarships and projects such as the undergraduate math clinic, that we are able to make lasting contributions to a university that has given so much to our professional and personal lives."
