Introduction

In the mid 1980s the faculty at Northern Illinois University reviewed the requirements for their baccalaureate graduates and decided that each should be at least minimally competent in mathematics. The intent of such competency was that graduates should be able to solve problems and do quantitative analysis which would be helpful in personal decision-making; in evaluating concerns in the community, state, and nation; in setting and achieving career goals; and in continued learning. To develop or determine the establishment of the desired competency for each student, a program had to be designed wherein each individual would be directed to the courses or experiences through which the minimal competency could be demonstrated or attained. In this article the program is described, and its components are discussed. In particular, the new course which set the standard for minimal competency is discussed in detail along with student reactions to the course. Also discussed are some of the program's successes and failures along with some continuing challenges the program encounters.

The Program Emerges

As a definition for minimal competency in mathematics at NIU, the Department of Mathematical Sciences proposed it consist of some computational facility and knowledge of elementary facts, facility at the interpretation of quantitative information, facility with elementary mathematical reasoning, and facility in problem solving. Graduates should be able to use mathematics in their lives and be able to solve problems, accurately and comfortably estimate answers to problems, judge the reasonableness of an answer to a problem, read charts and graphs, and ask meaningful questions concerning quantitative information presented to them.