MARSHALL — Wiley College has been awarded $300,000 to help increase the number of blacks who pursue a career in science, technology, engineering or mathematics.

The grant, known as the targeted infusion grant, will be spread over the next three years to help the college refurbish certain mathematics courses.

The money is part of a larger grant distributed by the National Science Foundation to assist historically black colleges and universities with science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programs.

“We collected some preliminary data and saw that students at Wiley are doing poorly in specific math programs such as algebra, statistics and pre-calculus,” said Wiley Dean of the Division of Science Walter Shumate.

Shumate explained he plotted grade point averages based on semesters the courses were offered and found that grade point averages took a drop when students were enrolled in these mathematics courses.

“We see a lot of students, sadly after that first year, drop out of their biology or chemistry major, and they seek other avenues, and I believe it is because of the math courses,” said Shumate.

He said due to the large amount of students who decide to seek different avenues, the amount of students who graduate with a STEM degree is scarce.

“If we increase our students proficiency in mathematics, we increase the likelihood they are going to pursue a career in the STEM fields. Right now minorities, especially African Americans, are disproportionately enrolled in STEM careers,” said Shumate.

He said the institution has to improve the introductory mathematical courses for the students in order to retain students who decide on a STEM major.

According to Shumate, the grant will be utilized primarily for the salary of a new mathematics professor, as well as for the purchase of 10 Apple iPads.

“The new professor will not only teach statistics, but also a developmental mathematics course,” said Shumate. “We want to bring in someone with a proven track record to helping academically disadvantaged students to be on par with non-academically disadvantaged.”

He said the faculty will work on creating a framework and will collaborate on lessons between the mathematics and science-related courses.

“For example, the chemistry professors will list the topics that will require certain mathematics and vice versa, so professors from all STEM areas will work on their syllabus together in order to collaborate on lessons,” said Shumate.

The new iPads will be distributed to all faculty members in the STEM department in order to determine their effectiveness in the classroom.

“The iPad has good educational tools, but it can also be a huge distraction in the classroom. So we want to make sure we are giving the best educational tools while not being a distraction in the classroom,” he said.

He said the iPads will be used for collaborative teaching, and professors are working on creating an application that will allow professors to receive feedback from students on topics.

“The professor will be able to get feedback to see what topics are giving students problems so we can immediately revue those topics again to improve the student’s understanding,” he said.

He said if the initiative proves successful, Shumate said he hopes to publish the increase in student proficiency in mathematics in a peer revue journal.

“Wiley is a model institution, and other HBCUs with similar problems can apply the Wiley method and improve their mathematical education,” he said.

Shumate said it is important for students to realize that seeking a STEM degree has several benefits — besides holding some of the largest paying salaries, it is also going to allow a large variety of career choices.

“When you get a STEM degree, you think, I can teach or, I can work in a lab and do research. It is true, but that is a very limited view,” he said. For example, you could work in economics for a petroleum company, even in the production of plastics.”

Shumate said due to the rapid amount of technological advancements, future employers are expecting a higher mathematical background.