Math Degree: Chadron or UI Springfield?

In my quest to pursue a degree in Mathematics, I've narrowed my choices to Chadron State College (Chadron State College) and University of Illinois at Springfield (University of Illinois Springfield - UIS). My dilemma now is to choose one of them.

I already have enough lower-level credits to transfer into either program as a junior. As far as I can tell from the websites, the number of courses I'll have to take are similar at both schools.

Chadron is less expensive, which is certainly a factor. It's less of a factor, because my employer will reimburse me, but it's still a factor.

UIS has better name recognition. But both are regionally accredited, so I'm not sure the name really matters.

UIS uses Blackboard, and I've taken online courses using Blackboard. Chadron uses Sakai, which I've never used.

It seems like it's almost a toss-up. I'm looking for some information that's going to tilt my choice in one direction or the other.

So if you're reading this, and you have any information that might help me decide, please share!

 

Chadron sounds like a rapper. I say go with UI Springfield.

 

If I were choosing, the lower tuition would sway me towards Chadron.

I'm all for small state schools.

 

I would take the one that has courses you like and can handle or has the best price.
Otherwise I woiuld go for UoIS - not many people of heard of Chadron (degreeinfo is the only place I hear it mentioned)

Good jobs are available for math majors (and especially so if you then earn a masters).

 

If cost isn't a factor, I'd go with UIS on the basis of Blackboard alone. I've used Sakai as an undergrad, and it is nowhere near the quality of Blackboard. Blackboard can be frustrating, but it's much better than Sakai.

 

The two institutions have historically had different focuses in terms of professional orientation. So one or the other might be a better choice, depending on your career plans.

Chadron State was originally established as a State Normal School (i.e. teacher's college). According to the numbers at the US Dept of Education's College Navigator website, the single most popular major at CSC is still "Education". CSC issued a total of 19 math-oriented bachelor's degrees in 2008-09; of these, 12 were in "Mathematics Teacher Education", and only 7 were in "General Mathematics". I don't doubt that graduates of the CSC math program have succeeded at a variety of career paths over the years, but I expect that the single biggest track, by far, is teaching math in the Nebraska public schools.

The University of Illinois - Springfield was established as a general-purpose public university, not as a teacher's college specifically. They also issued 19 bachelor's degrees in 2008-09, all of which were in "General Mathematics". I'm sure that many graduates of the UIS math program do become math teachers, but I don't think that the UIS program is oriented as strongly towards teaching as the CSC program. My guess is that UIS students are more likely than CSC students to pursue careers in industry, or to continue on to graduate school.

 

My last employer paid new BS math grads upwards of $50K/year t assist in modeling estimating methods for aerospace and defense programs. It turned out that they hired quite a few women because they were heading for teaching careers.
In addition the company hired math majors for engineering, quality assurance, testing divisions, and risk analysis.

My wife worked in Commercial insurance and I know that this industry hires lots of math grads.

Other areas are:
Survey companies
Teaching
Banking and finance
Logistics
Telephone companies
Gambling industry
Airlines
Energy

Check out Monster to see available jobs (I get several technical publications and see want ads for math majors)

 

The conclusion to my post #7 above, in case it isn't evident, is that Chadron might be a better choice if your career plans involve teaching math (particularly in Nebraska or neighboring states). Training math teachers is probably Chadron's speciality. On the other hand, UIS might be a better choice if your career plans involve industry or grad school. UIS probably has more experience preparing graduates for such positions than Chadron does.

The name recognition factor is better for UIS. In places like California, New York, or Florida, no one will know the slightest thing about Chadron State -- they won't even be able to guess the state that it is located in. They may not know anything about the University of Illinois - Springfield either, but they will definitely be able to guess that it is located in Illinois, and they will recognize that it is part of the name-brand "University of Illinois" system.

 

If there's no clear difference between the two programs then one remaining factor might be how you plan to use the degree. If you're planning to be a math teacher in a public school system then I'd suggest it makes no difference at all and you should choose the school that has the better womens soccer team.

 

This is a great post. There are few people who pursue, for whatever reason a degree or degrees in mathematics. Enjoy your schooling and please like us know your final decision.

 

In this case, UIS clearly has the advantage. UIS has an NCAA Division II women's soccer team; Chadron State also competes in NCAA Division II, but does not offer women's soccer.

On the other hand, Chadron State does have a distinct advantage in terms of women's rodeo.

 

I should also mention that the newest running back for the New England Patriots is 5'7" Danny Woodhead who just happens to have graduated from Chadron State.

 

FWIW I took 4 undergrad courses in information systems from Chadron and found the school great to work with.

 

I'm trying to finish my BA in mathematics at Excelsior. If the money is a wash I personally would go for the more recognizable name. Fewer pitfalls down the road IMO.

 

I'm shooting for actuary. Operations research has caught my interest from time to time too. In general, it seems a fair number of companies in varying fields have "some positions here and there" for math majors. I've noticed it mostly in finance but also in other places. The way I understand it, sometimes you need a businessman who knows some math, but other times you need a mathematician who knows some business. The latter is fewer in number, but then so are the qualified mathematicians for those positions. I think the same goes for aerospace, computer science, biostatistics, etc. Just my two cents.

 

I don't now about the costs of these programs but out here on the right coast I'd say that Illinois has the best name recognition. All I know about these two programs is that Chadron State can be done start to finish and the UIS program is a "degree completion" program. If Illinois costs more then you could take a bunch of Math courses at LSU and transfer the credits over to the UIS program and probably save a few dollars.

 

I'm guessing that the answer is probably "no." In either case what you've got is a Bachelors in Math from a state school. It's not even an apples and oranges thing. It's more like a galla v empire thing. (or navel v valencia).

 

When I looked at Chadron's program a couple of years ago, I was informed that math majors also have to have a minor- they had an Applied Statistics minor at that time (anyone interested should confirm that), and it also looked like their course rotation would mean completing the degree could take a long time. UIS won't accept you without Calc I-III and a programming language, plus, IIRC, you have to take an entrance exam to get in to the program.