BY J. Edward Moreno
Incoming freshmen looking to strengthen their math skills before the start of the Fall 2017 semester have until June 30 to apply to The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley’s Summer Bridge to Calculus program.
This program, which begins July 13 and runs through Aug. 18, is available to incoming engineering and computer science freshmen who have not yet received college credit for Calculus I, which is a prerequisite for most engineering and computer science courses.
It is part of a five-year National Science Foundation-funded project that helps students gain the math skills they need to pursue majors in engineering and computer science.
The course is tailored to each student’s experience and emphasizes the material that they have yet to cover, preparing them to take on Calculus I in the fall. Students receive one-on-one training with instructors and work with peer mentors from the College of Engineering and Computer Science.
Dr. Virgil Pierce, associate dean for student success in the College of Sciences, and associate professor of mathematics, said the program has successfully prepared 64 mechanical engineering and computer science students for their fall classes, 36 of whom enrolled in the program in 2016.
“Students in the calculus course are as successful as students who have arrived there through a more traditional sequence of courses,” Pierce said.
This is the fourth time the university is offering its Summer Bridge to Calculus program. It was first introduced in 2013 at legacy institution, UT Pan American. Last year, UTRGV expanded the program to the Brownsville Campus.
To qualify, students must be incoming freshmen who have declared a major in mechanical engineering or computer science, and must have passed the Texas Success Initiative (TSI) assessment.
For more information, contact Denise De Los Santos at [email protected] or 956-665-7257.
