Rumors the Math Department has been put on probation for not passing enough students have been around for decades — just ask its faculty.

Math professor Jerrold Grossman said these tales have been floating around OU’s campus “probably as long as (he) has — 38 years.”

What’s false

According to Grossman, the idea the math department has been put on probation is not, and never has been, a fact.

According to Susan Awbrey, interim senior vice president for c and provost, academic programs can be put on probation by their accrediting agencies but not by the university itself.

She confirmed the math department is not on probation of any kind.

“I am not sure where it started, but it seems to surface every few years,” she said. “The university sets the record straight, but somehow the myth reappears.”

What’s true

László Lipták, associate chair of OU’s math department, said the department is “not passing as many students as it would like,” in the introductory courses, but the number of failing students is not as low as what has been rumored.

OU’s Office of Institutional Research and Assessment’s official online data book shows that in the lowest-scoring math course of fall 2011, MTH 122, about 40 percent of students scored below a 2.0.

According to Awbrey, although this subject is difficult for some students, math courses are vital to many of OU’s majors, such as engineering, physics and other sciences.

“Having any number of students not passing mathematics courses is always a concern for the department and for the university,” Awbrey said.

Lipták said math scores are, on average, lower than in other subjects because of many different factors, one being that math concepts build as students reach higher course levels.

“If you don’t have the foundation, it can be very easy to fall behind,” Lipták said.

Grossman said another factor of lower passing rates is high school students not being adequately equipped for college math courses.

“If students didn’t learn the basics in high school, we go through it twice as fast,” Grossman said. “You need those algebra skills to go on to the college-level math courses.”

Senior Enils Martika, computer science and engineering major, said many of his peers have complained about the difficulty of OU math courses, but high standards are necessary.

“In order to finish the math classes, you have to be very resourceful and hardworking,” Martika said.

Lipták said resources are available to aid students who are having difficulty — many of the math courses have supplementary workshops, and math tutoring is available through the Tutoring Center located in North Foundation Hall.

According to Grossman, the majority of students who do poorly in his classes are those who do not take advantage of these resources.

The bottom line

Junior Steven Reinhard, industrial and systems engineering major, has taken five math courses at OU and said he does not believe math professors have unreasonable expectations.

Lipták said the math department’s objective has always been to maintain a high academic standard.

“Our goal is not just to pass students, although that is what we would like to see,” he said. “Our goal is to make sure they’re prepared for the next course.”

Contact Staff Reporter Jennifer Holychuk via email [email protected] at or follow her on Twitter @jholychuk