Request for Pause in Admissions

Letter to the Chancellor

Dear Chancellor Gilliam,

We respectfully ask if a temporary pause in admissions to our PhD program in Computational Mathematics would be possible, instead of discontinuing it. This decision was made outside of the APR process, preventing discussion of alternatives. We wish to work collaboratively with the administration to address concerns leading to the proposed closure.

Our understanding is that this decision was based on two primary reasons: Focus on undergraduate education and high faculty-to-major ratio compared to other Departments.

We would like to discuss these two issues. 

1. Focus on Undergraduate Education

We would like to report that in spring 2024, we saw a significant decrease in DFW rates due to our ongoing efforts to support students impacted by the Covid pandemic. Our results are striking enough that another department at UNCGhas reached out to us to ask for more information about how we have achieved this.

Without our graduate programs:

• Ensuring small class sizes and personalized attention without graduate student teachers is difficult. They teach 24 classes per semester and provide over 150 hours of weekly tutoring in the Math Help Center.

• Replacing faculty with PhDs with lecturers with MAs will lead to a loss of theoretical knowledge, lowering program quality to community college levels. 

• Redesigning and adjusting courses to deal with unforeseen events such as the Covid pandemic, meeting new job market demands, and designing specific courses for departments (as we have recently done for biology and business majors) will become harder when teaching loads increase and skills of the faculty narrow.

2. Faculty-to-Student Ratio

Comments at the Board of Governors meeting about faculty-to-student ratio may not fully reflect our department's situation. Compared to the Department of Psychology, the Department of Mathematics and Statistics has a similar number of faculty, yet we spend  $900,000 less on personnel while producing a similar number of student credit hours. 

A strong mathematics department is critical to STEM success at UNCG. It nurtures a strong foundation in quantitative reasoning and supports other scientific disciplines across the university. 

We understand that times are tough but it will not remain this way forever. If the programs are cut, as opposed to paused, it may not be possible to get the programs back when the fiscal situation improves. Faculty morale is at an all time low and a pause will give the department some hope.

We look forward to discussing possibilities with you.

Sincerely,

[tenured mathematics and statistics faculty]

Reply from the Interim Provost

Dear Professor [...], 

The Chancellor asked me to respond to your message in my role as Interim Provost, and specifically to confirm that decisions made about these programs will not be revisited.

I appreciate all the work members of the department have done in assisting with teach-out planning and continuing to deliver instruction and support to currently enrolled graduate students. I also look forward to collaborating with the College and department on ways we can continue to improve outcomes for undergraduate students in Mathematics. 

With best wishes, 

Alan 

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J. Alan Boyette, Ph.D.

Interim Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor

UNC Greensboro