EUNICE, La. (The Daily Advertiser) – Some students at Louisiana State University Eunice are breezing through math courses at their own pace to get their degrees started sooner.

The community college introduced Modular Math into its mathematics curriculum as part of its Quality Enhancement Plan a few years ago, and students began taking the courses in fall 2013.

Students scoring an 18 or below in math on the ACT would be required to take developmental math courses before beginning a degree.

“We were analyzing some institutional data and saw students needed some help,” said Paul Fowler, director of institutional effectiveness at LSUE. “The traditional teacher-in-front-of-the-classroom is not really working for us.”

LSUE offers two computer-based, competency-based courses for developmental math. Students come to campus to complete coursework and quizzes, which are password-protected and cover a few “modular” sections of material at a time, instructor Jamie Thibodeaux said.

The competency-based model is more flexible and builds upon students’ prior knowledge and experience rather than spending a set number of hours in a classroom.

Students advance as they demonstrate mastery of specific skills or knowledge called competencies. If students can show mastery over material and pass a pre-assessment, they move to the next unit, potentially saving them time and money.

That’s one thing student Tasha Vidrine Naquin of Church Point liked about Modular Math at LSUE.

She’s one of the “success stories” celebrated in a video produced by the school in 2014, in which she describes completing the first course just four days after the semester started. The second course took just three weeks.

Naquin had the full 16-week semester to complete one or both Modular Math courses, like others at LSUE, but finished in less than half that time. She liked that she could set her own pace, working on her math courses in between cooking dinner and checking on her kids.

She’s not alone in this. Thibodeaux said five students this semester already have completed both Modular Math courses.

With the competency-based model students also can take more time to master certain areas should they need it.

The courses include instructional guides and videos, which students can watch at home and as many times as they need to grasp the material. The program also connects students to tutors and teachers for one-on-one help, Thibodeaux said.

The college has seen success in the few years it has offered Modular Math, Fowler said.

“We’ve done two things with Modular Math — increase the success rates (in math) and decrease the time to complete developmental coursework,” Fowler said. “One of the principle purposes is to get through a degree (successfully and quickly).”

He cited pass rate percentages to back up his claims. From 2007-08 to 2011-12, the percent of students passing introductory math at LSUE was 68 percent. That increased to 82 percent with Modular Math, he said.

For the second course (Modular Math 0002), the pass rate went from 66 to 86 percent in two years after implementation.

Giving students options makes a difference. While student learning outcomes for the three course styles LSUE offers — online, modular and face-to-face — are about the same, Fowler said, but “what we have seen is that more in the modular courses are continuing on to college.”

The school also offers several options to fit students’ schedules. Sections of Modular Math are offered three times a week during the day, as Tuesday/Thursday classes during the day or as a night class Monday and Wednesday.