SCC Receives Grant From MasterCard to Help Students Learn Math

Published: 12/16/2010

“MasterCard is honored to support a program that helps equip area students with essential math skills that will serve them for the rest of their lives,” says Amanda Gioia, senior business leader at MasterCard Worldwide. “’Achieving Success With Math’ provides practical, effective outreach that showcases the importance of this fundamental skill set."

SCC’s program effectively reduces the number of entering students who need developmental math in college, and increases the number of students who will complete the college-level math required for a degree.

“Students who arrive at SCC prepared for college-level math courses save themselves and their parents hundreds of dollars and many hours of work required to complete up to three semesters of remedial work,” said Joyce Lindstrom, Ed.D., SCC professor of math. “SCC enthusiastically welcomes MasterCard's support in this project that has demonstrated success in encouraging students to take math seriously.”

The “Achieving Success With Math” program addresses math readiness challenges by allowing SCC math faculty to reach out to students attending area high schools through presentations with an important message: take math your senior year. SCC Math Department data have shown that students who take math their senior year have a higher assessment score on average than students who did not. After hearing the presentation, more than 85 percent of students who heard the presentation by SCC math faculty took math their senior year, and twice as many students placed into college-level math.

The program also assists current SCC students taking developmental math classes through the purchase and use of technology. A mobile computer lab is used to provide students access to innovative teaching methods.

Since SCC’s Achieving Success With Math program began in 2007, businesses and individuals have given more than $32,000 in support. More than 6,700 students have benefitted to date, and 4,000 students will benefit during the 2010-11 school year.

This is the second year MasterCard has contributed to the sponsorship of the program.

For more information on the program or to learn how to contribute, contact Kasey McKee, executive director of Foundation and alumni relations, at 636-922-8472 or kmckee@stchas.edu.

The vision of the St. Charles Community College Foundation is to transform lives and strengthen communities. The independent, 501(c)3, not-for-profit corporation was formed to support student scholarships and educational purposes of the college. For more information, visit the Foundation website at www.stchas.edu/foundation.

St. Charles Community College is a public, comprehensive two-year community college with associate degrees and certificate programs in the arts, business, sciences and career-technical fields. SCC provides workforce training and community-based personal and professional development as well as cultural, recreational and entertainment opportunities. For more information, visit www.stchas.edu.