Math programs at Nevada State College receive thousands in funding from Verizon

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Henderson, Nevada, United States of America (Free-Press-Release.com) January 10, 2012 -- HENDERSON, Nev. – As many students are in need of math remediation when they enter Nevada State College (NSC), the college has created unique solutions to encourage math mastery, including a math skills challenge program, known as Math Boot Camp, as well as a modular remediation course. NSC will now be able to expand both of these math programs thanks to an $11,000 grant from the Verizon Foundation.

The grant from Verizon will fund the conversion of the current NSC Math Boot Camp skills challenge into a web-based, interactive, real-time challenge as developed by NSC math professor, Dr. Aaron Wong.

Currently, the Math Boot Camp is available only to students in Dr. Wong’s class and the results are not archived. With the assistance of the Verizon Foundation’s funding, the new Math Boot Camp challenge will enhance student engagement by converting it to a web-based application that presents various math problems in a game format that continuously updates the top 20 scores in each math problem category.

By tapping into the growing popularity of online games, NSC hopes to encourage the continual development of math skills.

“The expansion of Math Boot Camp will help to engage students in need of math remediation as well as allow students the opportunity to exercise these skills over time to ensure they do not lose their capabilities,” said Andy Kuniyuki, Ph.D., interim dean of the school of liberal arts and sciences at Nevada State College. “We are very pleased to receive the support of the Verizon Foundation to expand Math Boot Camp as well as for our unique math remediation modular program. Math mastery is integral to ensuring students succeed and are less likely to drop out of college.”

NSC’s math remediation modular program is delivered in 5-week increments instead of the typical 15-week semester course. The modular program focuses on mastery of math skills instead of just achieving the passing grade for average math competency. The module format provides a quick means to revisit content that had yet to be mastered. As a result, the program increases math mastery, improves college retention and reduces the time to degree completion.

The Verizon grant will also go towards creating electronic instructor guides and lecture PowerPoint presentations of the modular program to broaden the delivery of the program and ensure uniformity of instruction.


“We are pleased to support the efforts of Nevada State College and specifically the Math Boot Camp as the program’s goals are aligned with the Verizon Foundation’s efforts to find innovative and technology-based solutions to advance education,” said Brian Danfield, president, Verizon Wireless Southwest Region.

About Nevada State College

Founded in 2002, Nevada State College is a four-year public college offering more than 24 majors and minors leading to a bachelor’s degree. Based in Henderson, Nev., Nevada State College serves over 3,200 students representing a broad array of cultural and economic backgrounds. In every field of study, classes are taught by experienced faculty who serve as mentors and guides. With an average class size of only 20 students, Nevada State College fosters a personal learning environment where students receive the support they need to succeed. For more information, visit http://www.nsc.nevada.edu.

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