Advice on a college course situation, please

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Have any of you had a similar experience in college? If so, how did you handle it? And prayers would be great, too.

Okay, so the story is that my boyfriend is going to school for a masters in accounting. This is his first semester for grad school–he has an assistantship! 👍 Plus, they really needed professors for undergrad intro to accounting, so the hired him to teach one course of that this semester, too. (Great experience, he said).

He’s taking four classes, and three of them are going great. The fourth one is what is causing him grief, and I’m trying hard to support him through this time. It’s Quantitative Applications to Economics, and it’s required for a CPA. The advisor suggested he take the class, and the course catalog said that he only needed Intermediate Algebra for the prereq.

However, the teacher said that they needed to know calculus. She asked how many people have taken it, and only 2 people hadn’t any calculus courses. So, she decided to go ahead and teach on the calculus level. (Even when the prereq is only intermediate algebra!!! :mad: )

It is over my boyfriend’s head. He puts in so much time into his homework, pays attention in class, but he can’t make heads or tails of it. He even talked to people who have taken 1 course of calculus, and they said that’s higher math than they had in that one course.

But the thing is, he didn’t know that they would be doing calculus in this course until it’s too late to drop/add a class. He needs to keep the current credit hour in order to keep his assistantship and his insurance. So, he talked with his advisor, who thought it would be unethical to drop this course and add an independent study (to replace the credit hours). (It would not be unethical–nothing unethical about substituting a different course! :mad: )

It basically was misleading information. Telling him he only needed intermediate algebra but requiring basically Calculus or Calculus II. He simply cannot understand the material, and his 2 tests are 90% of the course’s grade. If he gets a D or F, he will get thrown out of the Graduate College. (Though he graduated summa cum laude with his bachelors, and gets great grades in his other classes–only 1 B+ was his lowest).

He needs a C- at least to pass this course, though that might put him on academic probation–but he is not sure he will be able to do that well. He is trying to figure all this out, now.

so, grrrrrrrrr! :mad: I feel so sorry for him. Any advice and prayers would help so much.
 
Have him get a tutor. If he can do algebra, he can do calculus 🙂 I promise!

If he has to take the course, he has to take it…🤷

BTW I’m an Economist by training… I’ve had my fair share of ‘econometrics’ courses 😉

Accounting courses otoh…:eek:
😃
 
The tutor thing seems quite necessary, if he simply cannot figure out how to get it converted to an independent study. I know he doesn’t have much time this semester anyway to spare for a tutor, but even an hour a day couple days a week would be worth it to get the C- or better…I’ll suggest it to him 🙂 Thanks!

Right now, what he’s trying to do is to drop the class, and take it at a later date when he has more time to really give it more than his all.

I’m hoping that it will all work out in the end 🙂 (though it seems scary right now, with the possibility of losing the assistantship and being thrown out of the college…God will provide!)

Accounting isn’t too bad from what I hear from him 😉 And he did his thesis on an economic topic for his bachelor’s 😃 It’s the mathematical stuff, that’s the trick…
 
Since he has to take the class and he’s this far into the semester, he should see it through.

I agree with Shiann–he should check out his school’s tutoring resources. Maybe he can get into or start a study group within his class.

If he needs to understand Calculus, he might check into getting a “calc for dummies” type book.

Has he talked to his professor about this? She’ll prbably have some good ideas about how he can proceed in the class.
 
Yeah…that’s what it’s shaping up into–seeing it through 2 1/2 more months. 😦 And tutoring/study group…just might be what’s necessary. He works a lot for the assistantship and coming up with time is tricky, but it just is necessary, I guess 🤷

I suggested he talk with his teacher about it. She had made an announcement in class that the ones who hadn’t taken calculus (ie, only two people) have to do spend more time on homework…but it’s worth a try. I’ll suggest again that perhaps he can make appts with her on a regular basis for going over some of the lessons again with him, individually.

Prayers so that he doesn’t lose his assistantship or get thrown out of the college, please, everyone 🙂 I appreciate it so much.
 
I agree he should see the class through. 👍

If he’s smart then he’ll be able to handle calculus. It’s not too hard, just different. If he doesn’t have any calculus reference books, go to the college bookstore and note what the basic calculus course’s textbook is and the edition. Then go get one edition earlier on Amazon or Ebay. 👍
 
What about approaching the admin, making his case about the misleading prereq info and requesting an exception to the drop deadline? I think the fact that he was basically duped into thinking he could handle this class gives him the right to an unqualified drop even at this late date. Though I wonder… why didn’t he drop it when all this became clear at the beginning of the semester? He should have admitted defeat, or approached the department about prereqs, at that point.

If he gets the drop, he could take calculus next semester, and try this class again next fall.
 
If he’s never had calculus he’ll need a tutor, and then he’ll probably have to do what I had to do for my physical chemistry courses (required for my degree): grin and bear it. I had a LOT of trouble with calculus, which was an integral (only slight pun intended) part of p-chem. I did badly on the homework assignments but generally well on the exams because after the homeworks were graded and handed back, I would re-work them over and over until I could 1) get the correct answer on my own and 2) understand the reasoning behind the answer. It helped me learn how the equations worked, how each component worked together, how to get each component into a useable form for the final equation, etc. Sometimes it would take several hours of work per night, but it was worth it to pass those courses in the first go.
 
Ugh. I went through something similar in college.

I was an English Lit major, but I have a minor in Management. I am by no means a math person [as I sit here doing my Finance homework for my MBA class tonight].

I had to take statistics in college for my minor. I had taken AP Calculus in high school, but that was the last math class I had taken, and I was not keen on taking statistics at all.

I struggled…hard. The class description had said it would only take basic math skills. Apparently my school’s definition of basic math skills and my definition are different.

I worked in college…20 hours a week at a law firm, and I was going to school full time, and I had sorority stuff.

I found a group of people in my class that I knew well who were good at math, and we all met twice a week to review the topics. We weren’t allowed to discuss homework because of our school’s Honor Code, but we did do a lot of practice problems.

I made it through the class with a B-. The worst grade I got in college, but I would have failed otherwise. I needed that help, and I just had to find time. For me it meant asking the law firm if I could shave a few hours off of my schedule and work 15 instead of 20. There are some things on which I will never compromise: understanding my education + good wine.
 
duskyjewel, good idea 🙂 It wasn’t clear at the beginning of the semester…it’s only since last Tuesday that she announced that they would be doing calculus-level work.

Thank you for all your help, guys 🙂

He just spoke with his dad, updating him on all this (his dad used to be graduate dean and knows this stuff). He got mis-advised, the course was mis-represented, and because of one person’s mistake (advisor’s new and only human) his academic career, financial situation, and health insurance is at stake. So, his course of action would be to talk to the head of the acct dept., and if that doesn’t work, talk to the graduate dean. It is apparently within my boyfriend’s rights to seek and get a solution to this issue.

The trouble seems to be squarely with the advisor–and when my bf talked with him, the advisor’s hand was shaking and he was visibly nervous–almost afraid of my bf’s knowledge of policies and procedures with the university. It is safe to say that bf has been around the university a lot longer than the advisor, due to his dad’s working for the university.

Anyway, thanks so much for advising us! And for letting me worry aloud…that alone helps so much 🙂 The problem is not over yet. By going through with his right to make things right, and to appeal a bad advising, he is risking making enemies in the accounting department…especially with the advisor.

(Dunno if this adds anything, but bf had trouble with advisor earlier…the advisor had a big project and was trying to go through illicit means to get bf to work on it for him, outside of his allocated hours. )

He is between a rock and a hard place, and I feel so sad for him. I keep trying to remind myself to place my trust in God, and keep reassuring him that it will all work out in the end. But boy, is it scary meanwhile. 😦
 
And seekerjen and mrssears,

I just posted and then saw your new responses. It is heartening to know that he is not the only one. Sounds like it’s just a matter of more work on top of everything else, at this point. I will wait and see, because he wants to see if he can get it sorted out due to misadvising, first.

But yeah, it’s just a issue of devoting even more time to it, if his appeals fail. He doesn’t think it would work, because he says he needs more time to understand a concept than the course is giving him–but I told him it is worth a try, at the very least.

To quote him, “Lord have mercy”.
 
not surprised, calculus seems to be the pass/fail benchmark for business majors, and I agree schools are less than honest if they don’t advertise this fact. get someone from the undergrad math dept to give him rapid calc tutoring to get him through the class, then take a calc class, undergrad w/o credit if necessary, to get him up to speed
 
holly_potter said:
And seekerjen and mrssears,

I just posted and then saw your new responses. It is heartening to know that he is not the only one. Sounds like it’s just a matter of more work on top of everything else, at this point. I will wait and see, because **he wants to see if he can get it sorted out due to misadvising, first. **

But yeah, it’s just a issue of devoting even more time to it, if his appeals fail. He doesn’t think it would work, because he says he needs more time to understand a concept than the course is giving him–but I told him it is worth a try, at the very least.

To quote him, “Lord have mercy”.
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That’s the way I would go if I was your bf, too. There is doing ‘more work’ and then there is ‘learning an entirely new subject simultaneously with a course that requires you to know this subject and without having a teacher to teach you said new subject.’
That being said, Calculus is a good thing to know, so I would suggest that he pick up a course in it at some point, especially if he’s going to be in a math-centric field like accounting. I’m surprised Calc wasn’t required for him… My parents are both accountants, and as far as I know, it was required for them. 🤷
 
Ugh, this just happened to me.

I decided to take 2 eight week classes online that would end right before I was due to have this baby.

So basically I am pregnant, work full time and part time and wanted to take full time online classes. I figured I better take something easy, lol!

So I signed up for what was called the “lowest” math class…basic college algebra…just to fulfill the requirement and I signed up for ethics.

The math teacher was on crack. Our first week consisted of calculus quizzes e.v.e.r.y. day just for fun. I figured maybe it was a joke and stayed with it until the 2nd week, when we started to do quantitative calc.

Mind you, I haven’t taken any math since highschool and I just needed the basic math to complete my degree, KWIM? Plus, I will use the excuse that I am preggers. I can feel my brain evaporating week by week lol.

So I withdrew. I didn’t get one penny back, but I wasn’t willing to fight. By the time I filed my withdrawal papers in week 3 of the class, the teacher had lost 60% of the students and none of the other students had passed a quiz.

I hate college.

Good news is I got an A in ethics!

ETA: I wonder if the science and math teachers in general are like this…

I had to take a statistics class and it was the same way. Fortunately, despite my math disability 😛 I love logic and geometry and somehow made it through that class. It was definitely misadvertised.

Also, all my science classes were like this. But I love science and really rose to the challenge and had fun.

It just seems as if the teachers feel “I’ve taught the ABCs for ten years and I’m bored, so I am going to teach 3rd year med school classes to these undergrad freshman.”

DH says it is just because they get more money. Lots of students will sign up for the basic BIO 101, make it long enough that they aren’t allowed to get a refund and then withdraw. The school gets money and the students have to stay in school longer to make up for a lost semester/class.
 
puzzleannie, Found some tutorials, at least! It was making sense to me, and I am not the least bit mathematically inclined. Just gathering basic knowledge so I can offer more constructive help.

pumpkinbeast, lol, thanks for that distinction! 😃 I needed the laugh and I’ll pass it along 🙂 (just been worried for his sake…) Soon, when the chair of the accounting department comes in, we’ll be able to find out if he can sort this all out.

Calculus isn’t required at our university, but it is a very rigorous program–our state has the toughest CPA requirements (so he says 🙂 ) It remains to be seen whether he will take Calculus, anyway, or not. Apparently there is another course that is equally substitutable for Quant Apps (but that wasn’t made clear at the beginning to him).

And hasikelee, I’m of the same opinion–math and science people either think it’s too easy, or haha, like you said, just want to liven things up! Perhaps it was a good thing my college algebra course was taught by a GTA–stuck to the book! 🙂 (Congrats on the A in Ethics! 👍 )

Looks like he’s going to be doing the same thing you did, though…withdrawing from the class. He talked with his dad, and his dad advised him to drop the course, no matter what. If the chair allows a substitution to be made, bf will keep assistantship and health insurance. If chair says no, bf will still drop course and lose assistantship and health insurance. His assistantship had paid for tuition, so it won’t be a big loss in that way.

So…I’ve just been praying a lot, informally and formally, today, hoping that it will all get sorted out, and that the chair will be reasonable. At least his dad said he would pay for grad school, still. And bf can find another part time job–he is incredibly intelligent. (Just that asthma medication is not cheap–but his dad will help with that too, of course. )

Thank you, y’all, for your (name removed by moderator)ut 🙂
 
prays

Just saw bf and the department chair get on the elevator together. Bf wanted to speak with him privately, away from the department where the advisor is, so I think they’re going to either the student center or the library.

I’ll know soon enough, I guess. 🤷

Thanks, again, everybody…I really appreciate it 🙂 I know it doesn’t affect me directly, but I can’t help but empathize with my dear bf.
 
I would say that talking directly to the prof is the first thing to do. From what I’ve read, the professor doesn’t have any idea that this student is struggling along and working so hard. I had an English degree in college, but never in my college career did I encounter a professor who wouldn’t try to help out a student. Let me rephrase that, actually, I never met a prof who wouldn’t try to help out a hard-working student. I was a TA. I also worked for a graduate-run magazine and worked with many professors and grad-student/phd candidate-professors and they’d bend over backwards to help out a student.

I would say it is definitely worth a shot and unless this professor is unreasonable and unkind, he’ll try to help your bf out.

Good luck!
 
I’m surprised he didn’t have calculus as well. At my uni, one semester of calculus was required before Intro to Accounting and two semesters of calculus were required before the first of four economics courses (macro, micro, and two semesters of econometrics).
 
Well, he talked to the chair of the Acct dept–and he said that the previous GA had the same sort of trouble with this class. The chair tried to meet with the advisor yesterday, but the advisor wouldn’t respond to knocking on the door to his office. (Now, the chair knew the advisor was in his office–just trying to pretend that he’s not there or something, I guess.)

So the chair will be speaking with him still, about it. (Via email, 'cause he’s going out of the country on a Fulbright for 3 weeks) If the advisor won’t budge on the independent study–which the chair thought was a great idea–then it will be brought before the chair of the graduate studies, who can override the advisor, I think.

Anyway, the end is in sight. Bf didn’t have to take this class, but did so because he was told to, on the basis that it was Intermediate Algebra (not Calculus…) In any case, bf will drop Quant Apps after today–will still go to class tonight because he’s principled and has only missed class once in his entire college career. (because he was meeting Warren Buffett, which is understandable :D)

It’s better to have no assistantship and no health insurance, than to have none of the above AND be kicked out of school. But the thing is, everybody loves his research work 😃 So, I imagine that they will be very unhappy if bf wasn’t their graduate research assistant anymore.

It will be awkward turtle with his advisor for the next two years, but it will be worth it. He is considering a CMA instead of a CPA, now, because the requirements are slightly different. But things are much better now, overall 🙂

Good things take time, but bad things happen all at once. But, thank God, it is nearly solved. Thanks so much for all your help. As to the calculus requirements, I guess part of it may be that he did not do his bachelor’s in accounting. I think if you do that route, calculus is required.🤷 He did his bachelor’s in history, and then is doing a masters in accounting–which I guess might have a different set of requirements. I’m not sure. 🙂
 
I do feel heartfelt sympathy because I chose history as my grad field in part because of no math–1st required course was statistics, thank goodness I married a math major
 
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