Home ›
Expansion of the existing departmental undergraduate advising
Development of a mandatory Placement Exam System
Expand the expertise in the area of Computational Mathematics and Statistics
Expansion of Statistics educational programs

Title: Expansion of the existing departmental undergraduate advising
Printer Friendly Version
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 11:30 — Marek ELZANOWSKI
School/College: 
College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Department: 
Mathematics & Statistics
Planning Year: 
2009
Institutional Themes: 
Improve Students Success
Enhance Educational Opportunities
Institutional Academic Initiatives: 
Improve retention/graduation rates
Unit initiative Description: 
The department is developing a robust and proactive advising program for the major and minors by engaging more full-time faculty in the undergraduate advising and by establishing a position of a full-time departmental undergraduate adviser.
Time Frame: 
2 years
Desired outcomes: 
Establishing the position of the departmental undergraduate adviser. Creating an advising data base for all majors and minors. Each math major should see an adviser at least once a year.
How initiative supports overall unit or school/college plans: 
See above.
Measure of progress and success for this unit initiative: 
Increasing the number of math majors and minors. Improving the graduation rate.

Title: Development of a mandatory Placement Exam System
Printer Friendly Version
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 11:43 — Marek ELZANOWSKI
School/College: 
College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Department: 
Mathematics & Statistics
Planning Year: 
2009
Institutional Themes: 
Improve Students Success
Enhance Educational Opportunities
Expand Resources and Improve Effectiveness
Institutional Academic Initiatives: 
Improve retention/graduation rates
Unit initiative Description: 
The department is developing a mandatory Placement Exam System in the introductory Mathematics and Statistics courses such as Mth 95, 105, 111, 211, 251 and 261 as well as Stat 243. Both in-house and commercially available tests are being examined.
Time Frame: 
1 year
Desired outcomes: 
It is planned that the Placement Test, coordinated with the web registration system, will be in place by Fall 2010.
How initiative supports overall unit or school/college plans: 
Improving retention and graduation rates, and overall students' success.
Measure of progress and success for this unit initiative: 
Improved retention rate in the courses the Placement test is applied to.

Title: Expand the expertise in the area of Computational Mathematics and Statistics
Printer Friendly Version
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 12:07 — Marek ELZANOWSKI
School/College: 
College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Department: 
Mathematics & Statistics
Planning Year: 
2009
New Academic Program Proposal: 
yes
Academic Program Proposal Status: 
In preliminary/preapproval stage
Institutional Themes: 
Achieve Global Excellence
Enhance Educational Opportunities
Institutional Academic Initiatives: 
Increase externally sponsored research related to sustainability and increase enrollment in sustainability courses
Increase domestic non-resident & international enrollment
Unit initiative Description: 
Building on the success of the recent faculty investment in this area the department is seeking an endowment from the Massiah Foundation to hire three prominent mathematicians/statisticians to build a nationally recognized research and educational program in Computational Mathematics/Statistics and to expand and enhance departmental interdisciplinary research capabilities. It is planned that the positions will support the recent university initiative in sustainability, in particular, such priority areas as energy efficiency and/or renewable energy, transportation infrastructure or sustainable finance where mathematical modeling, simulation and computational methods are especially relevant.
Time Frame: 
More than 3 years/ongoing
Desired outcomes: 
Establishing nationally recognized research group in Computational Mathematics/Statistics. Create the university wide Center for Computational Sciences with 12 to 15 full-time faculty representing at least 6 different departments, and the annual research funding at the level of $1,500,000 by 2016. Develop a new MS in Computational Mathematics/Statistics professional degree program.
How initiative supports overall unit or school/college plans: 
Creating high quality research and academic programs.
Measure of progress and success for this unit initiative: 
Securing the support form the Massiah Foundation, attracting accomplished faculty, significantly increasing externally funded research, significantly increasing enrollment in the Ph.D. in Mathematical Sciences program.

Title: Expansion of Statistics educational programs
Printer Friendly Version
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 12:25 — Marek ELZANOWSKI
School/College: 
College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Department: 
Mathematics & Statistics
Planning Year: 
2009
New Academic Program Proposal: 
yes
Academic Program Proposal Status: 
In preliminary/preapproval stage
Institutional Themes: 
Provide Civic Leadership through Partnerships
Enhance Educational Opportunities
Institutional Academic Initiatives: 
Increase online offerings and enrollment
Increase enrollment in community based learning courses
Unit initiative Description: 
Recognizing the unique community leadership role Portland State University plays, the department has focused its attention on developing and expanding our outreach-oriented educational programs such as the MS in Statistics and the Ph.D. in Mathematical Sciences in which Statistics is an important part. Building on the tremendous success of these programs and responding to the ever growing needs of the business community in Portland, especially in the financial sector, we will be working to develop a new undergraduate program in Statistics. This initiative will require development of a new 300/400-level sequence in Statistics and expansion of 400-level and 500-level course offerings. In addition, it will also require re-establishing the Statistics Consulting Lab. A new faculty member to teach these new courses and to provide extra support for the rapidly growing MS in Statistics program will also be needed. Our long term goal is to develop a new Ph.D. in Statistics program
Time Frame: 
3 years
Desired outcomes: 
Developing the new BS in Statistics program. Increase enrollment in the existing MS in Statistics program. Re-establishing the Statistics Consulting Lab.
How initiative supports overall unit or school/college plans: 
Creating high quality educational programs. developing educational programs to increase participation of Portland's diverse population.
Measure of progress and success for this unit initiative: 
See above.