The Mathematics Assistance and Learning Lab, also known as the M.A.L.L., was established at UCF in 2008. The MALL is composed of three rooms with 312 total computers. Students in Algebra, Intermediate Algebra, Trigonometry, and Pre-Calculus must complete a total of three hours a week in the lab for a hefty portion of their grade. The MALL was created to help students succeed in their math courses and have access to help in addition to classroom time. However, the main complaint about the The MALL is that the mandatory hours are annoying and unnecessary.
As an incoming freshman, one of the first pieces of advice UCF students get is to NOT take math at UCF. Many students who have taken a math course at UCF could attest to the hassle it is to take math here. As the school year goes on, it becomes more apparent that taking a UCF math course is frowned upon by the student body. Why is math at our university such a terrible thing to take?
To be completely honest, I share some of the same feelings as these students. This is seriously the first thing I tell to friends enrolling at UCF. The MALL caused me a great deal of stress and difficulty, and it is downright unreasonable. A friend didn’t take my advice about enrolling at Valencia for math courses. After one semester, she applied to Valencia as a transient student to finish her math courses there. She is a math major.
Something else not mentioned: mandatory MALL hours means you get double-graded for homework the entire semester. Homework is mandatory, and is part of your grade. If you do all of your homework and get a 100% without entering the MALL, you don’t get full credit. Even though the material has been learned and all assignments were completed to the highest completeness.