MREC^3: MATH RESEARCH EXPERIENCES IN COMMUNITY COLLEGES CONFERENCE
Research experiences for STEM majors at an early stage of their training have proven to be “high impact” – these experiences are crucial for ensuring that students are able to maximize their potential for a successful STEM career. It is therefore important that as many community college students as possible be made aware of mathematics research opportunities, since community colleges constitute the largest postsecondary education segment in the United States.
The main goal of the MREC^3 is to create a larger participation-broadening venue for community colleges students engaged in mathematical research to present their projects and, as a result, to excite more students about careers in the mathematical sciences, whether in academia or in the private sector.
California State University Northridge (CSUN) in partnership with LA Pierce, LA Mission and Fullerton Colleges have organized three MREC^3 conferences. In addition to increasing and broadening student and faculty participation, the conference promoted various discussions among participating faculty on how to increase research activity in community colleges. Significantly, topics like
- how to better utilize the existing resources,
- how to find time and funds for research, and
- how to attract and retain community college students as prospective math majors have been addressed.
Please go to our MREC^3 menu for details of our previous conferences.