Center for the Instruction in Mathematics to Engineering Students (CIMES)

In Spring 2005, the College (of Letters, Arts and Science) along with the Viterbi School of Engineering (VSoE) established the Center for the Instruction in Mathematics to Engineering Students (CIMES). The structure consists of a director the Math Department and a deputy director from VSoE. The effort consists of a systematic review of the syllabi for the courses Math 125, 126, 225, 226 and 245 that are required for most engineering undergraduate degree programs. In addition, several engineering faculty participate in teaching these classes.

This exercise has been effective in introducing an engineering flavor to these classes, particularly in maintaining the students’ interest in engineering. For VSoE, student retention has been an issue, and in the past, many of the engineering students opted out of engineering because of difficulties with Math. CIMES has addressed this difficulty, and the current approach of infusing engineering faculty to teach Math has been an effective means for improving education quality for engineering students. However, there has been a difficulty in attracting a sufficient number of engineering faculty available for teaching in the Math Department. 

In terms of course restructuring, CIMES (with help from VSoE and Math faculty) redesigned the Math 125 and 126 syllabi (called Math A and Math B) with engineering applications flavor, and also made an early introduction to linear algebra. These syllabi have not been implemented as yet but are ready to go upon approval from the curriculum committees. The impact of CIMES has been realized by the improved math education. The full data on metrics such as retention have not been analyzed as yet.