Summer 2013 Online Course in Applied Calculus
This summer, the Associated Colleges of the Midwest (ACM) will offer a pilot online course, Calculus: A Modeling Approach, open to students enrolled at any ACM college. The course is designed primarily for students in the natural sciences and social sciences – such as economics, environmental science, psychology, medicine, ecology, and chemistry – who wish to apply quantitative modeling tools in their discipline.
Enrollment in the course, which is designed to preserve the best features of a similar on-campus liberal arts college course, will be limited to a maximum of 20 students. Course activities will include pre-recorded lectures, online student forums, weekly videoconference tutorials with the instructors, homework assignments, and quizzes and exams.
The course has been developed at the request of the ACM Board of Directors and grows out of a consortial effort to explore ways in which online learning might be used to enhance the educational mission of small residential liberal arts institutions.
Two mathematics professors, Kristina Garrett from St. Olaf College and Chad Topaz from Macalester College, are developing the eight-week course and will serve as co-instructors. They are receiving IT support from Nancy Aarsvold (St. Olaf) and Barron Koralesky (Macalester).
Course Dates
June 17-August 9, 2013
Application deadline
April 15, 2013
Academic Credit
The recommended academic credit is four semester hours (equivalent to a full semester course). Students will need to consult with their campus registrars to determine how the course will transfer back to their home institutions, and with the department chairs of any departments from which they expect to receive credit. For example, a student whose economics major requires a course in calculus, and who is intending to submit this course, must consult with the chair of that department.