“I think it’s fine if we’re really committed to undergraduate education that we follow through and make sure that those students who need that face-to-face support have access to it,” ASMSU President Evan Martinak said.

MTH 1825 is a class for students who have low scores on their math placement exams. The course virtually has no credit value for students because those required to take the course must have an additional three credits to graduate, said Pavel Sikorskii, executive associate undergraduate director for the Department of Mathematics.

The movement to an online course was made in spring 2011, Sikorskii said.

The bill was supported by ASMSU general assembly members Nate Pasmanter and Paul Mooney after Mooney heard students and teacher assistants, or TAs, complaining about the course structure at the Math Learning Centers, or MLC.

The two sent out surveys to former and current TAs, trying to gather their thoughts on what could be changed about the course. One TA said the course sets students up to fail because everything is online, Mooney said.

But Sikorskii said research has shown the software currently used in the course is effective and beneficial to students. He said the MLC, satellites on campus and enrichment programs also will help students.

While there is an enrichment program offering services as a recitation-type class, TAs felt most students were unaware of the option, Pasmanter said, citing his survey results.

The latest concern about the online math class also is a concern of the Black Student Alliance, or BSA. The group lobbied for a professor-taught class in their student demands of 2011.

BSA President Silver Moore said the course can play a big role in students’ financial aid if students struggle in the class and fall onto the academic probation list.

International studies and social science freshman Rachel Sienkowski, who used the MLC as an extra resource, took the class last semester and struggled, she said.

“If I’m not good in math, then I need someone to teach me,” Sienkowski said. “Not having a teacher made it worse.”

Sienkowski said she is doing better in her current math class because she has a professor and recitation.

Pasmanter understands it is difficult to change the structure of a course and isn’t expecting a speedy fix.

“If they look into the enrichment section, hopefully they could have something in place by the (Academic Orientation Program) this summer,” he said. “They could (make) students more aware of it.”