Online Degrees and CLEP and DSST Exam Prep Discussion
Empire State College Upper Level Math - Printable Version

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Empire State College Upper Level Math - sterjs - 08-19-2015

I need to take several upper level math courses as preparation for graduate school: Linear Algebra, Multivariable Calculus, Numerical Analysis, Real Analysis and possibly Graph Theory. Very few online colleges seem to offer upper level math courses, much less at a high frequency, but Empire state seems to be the exception: https://empire2.esc.edu/cdladmin/cdlcat.nsf/smat?OpenView

Has anyone take upper level math courses there? Are they rigorous (proofs), mostly applications or a mixture? How is the quality of instruction? I can't find any of the syllabuses for the courses or even the professors at this school and there isn't a whole lot of info about the school in general. I've only been able to find info only through the bookstore: the books used in the courses and that the courses require Maple and MyMathLab. If calling them directly would be helpful, I can do that tomorrow (my timezone is GMT +7 and EST is GMT -4 iirc).

Empire State College Upper Level Math - Prloko - 08-19-2015

sterjs Wrote:I need to take several upper level math courses as preparation for graduate school: Linear Algebra, Multivariable Calculus, Numerical Analysis, Real Analysis and possibly Graph Theory. Very few online colleges seem to offer upper level math courses, much less at a high frequency, but Empire state seems to be the exception: https://empire2.esc.edu/cdladmin/cdlcat.nsf/smat?OpenView

Has anyone take upper level math courses there? Are they rigorous (proofs), mostly applications or a mixture? How is the quality of instruction? I can't find any of the syllabuses for the courses or even the professors at this school and there isn't a whole lot of info about the school in general. I've only been able to find info only through the bookstore: the books used in the courses and that the courses require Maple and MyMathLab. If calling them directly would be helpful, I can do that tomorrow (my timezone is GMT +7 and EST is GMT -4 iirc).

Mathematics are more of the difficult courses to teach online. Is there a way for you to take these classes at a local college? For me, seeing a professor/TA do these is worth its weight in gold. Unless you already know the subjects and just need online school to certify it, maybe you should look into some night/weekend courses.

Anyone else agree/disagree?

Empire State College Upper Level Math - gstekis - 08-19-2015

I took Abstract Algebra, but as independent study. It was a very easy process. 12 homeworks, 12 weeks- you study a chapter, then do your homework, if you have a questions, email or Blackboard the instructor...The material is not easy, but then it's UL Math Smile

Empire State College Upper Level Math - sterjs - 08-19-2015

Prloko Wrote:Mathematics are more of the difficult courses to teach online. Is there a way for you to take these classes at a local college? For me, seeing a professor/TA do these is worth its weight in gold. Unless you already know the subjects and just need online school to certify it, maybe you should look into some night/weekend courses.

Suffice it to say that I'm working overseas right now and it impossible for me to take the classes in person.

Empire State College Upper Level Math - sterjs - 08-19-2015

gstekis Wrote:I took Abstract Algebra, but as independent study. It was a very easy process. 12 homeworks, 12 weeks- you study a chapter, then do your homework, if you have a questions, email or Blackboard the instructor...The material is not easy, but then it's UL Math Smile

Thanks for the info. I suppose all their Upper Level math courses are independent study? They offer Abstract Algebra 1: Group Theory as a regular course.

Empire State College Upper Level Math - slefoll7 - 08-20-2015

Try Art of Problem Solving. It probably has all of those textbooks and everything you need to complete the course exept the test and practise tests. It also has online videos and problems. http://www.khanacademy.com also has some of those courses online.

Empire State College Upper Level Math - gstekis - 08-20-2015

They do have regular classes, but I needed the first available thing online and the Independent Study was it that semester.

Empire State College Upper Level Math - Kaz - 08-21-2015

sterjs Wrote:I need to take several upper level math courses as preparation for graduate school...

Hello. I took Analysis 1 and Abstract Algebra 1 at Chadron State and Abstract Algebra 2 and an upper-level Diff Eq course at U. of Idaho's Engineering Outreach. Both schools were a good experience but Idaho was almost triple the price of Chadron. It looks like Chadron is currently $246.00 per undregrad credit and SUNY Empire is $378.00 if that matters: For comparison, U. of Idaho is $614.00 per undergrad credit: Also Empire makes a lot of their courses 4 credits compared to most other schools that would make the same course 3 credits. That can cut both ways: it lets you compile more credits easier if you need that but since you pay per credit they are more expensive too. Empire has great variety compared to most other options I found out there, but if you need a "part 2" for Analysis or Abstract Algebra the only one I found at the time was Idaho's.

American Public University is another good option, but some people don't seem to value the school that highly :confused: I had taken a course at Idaho and asked to take my final one at APU. I was denied and they approved a second course at Idaho. Not 100% sure if it was because my school didn't like APU credits or what, but there ya' go. They are cheap at $270.00 per undergrad and have a really good selection: There is also Mercy College but they are $735.00 per credit, I think, and I never saw any reason to use them over Chadron or Idaho. Uni. of Illinois used to have a good selection through their NetMath program but it has been trimmed almost to the point of uselessness for someone in your position. I haven't checked out U. of Illinois - Urbana Champaign in a long time though, they may have their own online math offerings. Let me know what you decide to go with because upper-level math is few and far between on this forum! :o

Empire State College Upper Level Math - Kaz - 08-21-2015

Prloko Wrote:Mathematics are more of the difficult courses to teach online. ... Anyone else agree/disagree?

The courses I took at Chadron were audio recordings of the in-class lectures with PDFs of the notes from the whiteboard. The ones I took at U. of Idaho were full videos of the regular in-class lectures, one provided the notes and one didn't. IMO they weren't any easier or harder than the butt-in-seat upper-level math classes I took at Rutgers. Honestly the only difference I've ever noticed from class to class is whether the professor is a researcher first or a teacher first. Every class I had that was "taught" by a research-first mathematician paled in comparison to the ones taught by professors who obviously were teaching because they loved to teach. I'm sure that isn't a math thing though and applies to every subject.

Empire State College Upper Level Math - sterjs - 08-23-2015

Kaz Wrote:American Public University is another good option, but some people don't seem to value the school that highly :confused: I had taken a course at Idaho and asked to take my final one at APU. I was denied and they approved a second course at Idaho. Not 100% sure if it was because my school didn't like APU credits or what, but there ya' go. They are cheap at $270.00 per undergrad and have a really good selection:

Thanks! APU looks great. They're regionally accredited, so I don't know why their credits wouldn't be accepted. I can't imagine they offer cupcake courses in Real Analysis and Topology.