FC MILES Helps Student Go the Distance in Math
Marie Anderson is not your typical college student. Anderson began taking classes after her teenage daughter graduated high school and was also attending Fullerton College in 2013. As an adult re-entry student, she faced not only the challenge of adjusting to college life after so many years outside of the classroom, but also to the fact that mathematics wasn’t her strongest subject.
“I didn’t finish math in high school,” she admits.
Anderson completed Math 15, a basic skills pre-algebra math course, but only because her teenage daughter was enrolled in the same class and was able to tutor her throughout the duration of the course.
“After that, I attempted Math 20 twice, and I had to withdraw both times,” she said. “It was just too fast paced for me.”
That was around the time she discovered the Student Diversity Success Initiative (SDSI) which provides resources and workshops to increase the success, retention, graduation, and transfer rates among African-American and Latino males, and other at-risk students. Through Anderson’s participation in SDSI, she was introduced to FC MILES, the Math Institute for Learning Enhancement Success, which helps students develop their mathematic skills outside of the traditional classroom.
Anderson enrolled in a summer cohort of FC MILES in 2015 with the hope of developing higher level math skills and the opportunity to test into a higher level math. FC MILES utilizes an online software program called ALEKS as the primary vehicle to improve students’ math abilities, and supplements it with lessons from math faculty and assistance from tutors in a cohort type setting.
“This was awesome for me,” she said. “I knew that if I wanted to accelerate my goals of transferring and getting my degree, I was going to need to work the program as hard as I could.”
And she did. Anderson completed the six-week summer program and tested into Math 129, College Algebra for Business Calculus, shortly after. In fact, she completed Math 129 in the fall of 2015 with flying colors. “That was the first ‘A’ I ever got in a math class,” Anderson said of her Math 129 course.
Her participation in FC MILES not only increased her math confidence, but also cut at least two years from her studies at FC. She is on the path to earn an associate’s degree and transferring to University of California, Berkeley to study international business.
“Before FC MILES, I felt like, ‘how am I ever going to graduate if I can’t even pass a math class?’ ” Anderson said. “Now if I want to major in a science field, I can do that. I know that it might take a little more effort, but it’s possible, whereas before I wouldn’t have even considered it.”
Anderson is one of many success stories at Fullerton College. SDSI has supported more than 200 students in 2015-2016 with tutoring, counseling, workshops, and resources to complete their goals.
For more information on FC MILES, contact the Student Diversity Success Initiative at (714) 992-7143.
