When journalism freshman Marshall Weinbaum arrived at MSU this fall, he didn’t expect any problems with his math classes, even though he doesn’t consider himself a strong math student.

“Math has always been a difficult subject for me,” he said. “But seeing that I am a journalism major, it’s not been much of a concern.”

Now, with about three weeks left in the semester, Weinbaum said he’s struggling to complete Math 1825, intermediate algebra.

He said he approached his instructor for help, but the problem remains unsolved.

“It’s difficult because we’re the kids that need the most help in math, and we’re not getting the teachers who can help us out the most,” he said.

Department of Mathematics Chairperson Peter Lappan said these problems are not uncommon, but there are a number of things students can do to try to solve them.

“The first line of defense is to talk to the instructor,” he said. “Obviously everybody has office hours, and hopefully they’re reasonable and available.”

Lappan said the Math Learning Center is another option students can utilize to try to improve their grades.

“The center is open something like 52 hours a week, including Sunday afternoons and evenings,” he said. “It’s open quite a bit and the staff are generally the graduate assistants that teach the courses. Hopefully students can get help that way.”

Lappan said although about 60 percent of teaching assistants in math classes are foreign, it should not be an issue for students’ ability to understand the material.

“If you listen to somebody with a different accent, you have to work for awhile to understand them,” he said. “As time goes on, this issue becomes a lot less. In general, most students should be able to adjust to an accent in a week or less.”

But grades for some math classes at MSU are low.

The average grades for students enrolled in Math 1825 and Math 103 during spring semester 2001 were 1.55 and 2.09, respectively.

Irina Kadyrova, coordinator for Math 103, a college algebra class, said some problems stem from students arriving at MSU without adequate preparation from their high school math classes.

“The main problems with the class are problems with basic math skills,” she said. “Students come here and all of a sudden they are not ready for the class.”

Kadyrova said the Math Learning Center can be a useful resource, but students need to remember to concentrate on basic math concepts.

“A lot of students come and say they spend a lot of time doing homework, but it’s not successful because he or she doesn’t know or understand the logical approach,” she said. “That’s the key word for success.”

But Diane Boumenot, manager of the professional services department of the American Mathematical Society, said there are only a limited number of services nationwide that offer math help to college students.

“We’re not tuned into the undergraduate community, although we would like to be,” she said. “We’re trying to build that up.”

The society offers lists of summer research programs, links to special colleges and programs and graduate school information for students at its Web site, www.ams.org.

But Boumenot said sites such as www.calculus.org and www.mathforum.com can offer math help for a range of students from kindergarten to college.

Steve Weimar, co-director of The Math Forum, which is based out of Drexel University in Philadelphia, said the site offers several different resources for students of all ages across the country.

“The main focus is to create a community environment where people can help each other,” he said. “Our target audience is kindergarten through sophomore year in college, but anybody can submit a question, and often higher level questions can get answered as well.”

But even with online resources available, many students say the help should come from the university first.

Barbara Steidle, assistant provost for undergraduate education, said the university works to enhance students’ learning experiences in all subjects.

“We’re always seeking to improve things and there are always analyses going on,” she said. “We’re trying to assure that what’s going on in the classrooms is effective.”

But Steidle said grades in other subjects are usually higher.

“Math grades are generally lower than grades in other classes because math grades are yes or no,” she said. “You’re either right or you’re wrong, so that degree of accuracy makes a difference.”

Hospitality business sophomore Alicia Kaufmann transferred to MSU this year from Saginaw Valley State University in hopes of being accepted into The Eli Broad College of Business. She met with Kadyrova, an ombudsman and other math department officials in attempts to salvage her grade in Math 103.

But she said she feels unhappy about the way the situation has been handled.

“It’s really discouraging,” she said “I came here and I was like, ‘Yes, Michigan State, this will be awesome. I can go into what I want.’ And then in order to get into the school of business, you have to get at least a 2.85, and for me right now it’s totally impossible and it’s so frustrating.

“It seems ridiculous that they require math to graduate, but they don’t find it important enough to find qualified professors to teach this class.”

Leslie Escobar can be reached at escobarl@msu.edu.