Learning Assistance

Helpful support information for students taking 1000 & 2000 level courses

Students have numerous resources available to assist them with everything from registration to tutoring assistance.

Specific Course Assistance:

Where can I get help with my math class?

  • Every student needs help with math once in a while. At University of Colorado Denver we are committed to providing support for students to help them be successful in mathematics. Students who are taking math classes at University of Colorado Denver have access to the following resources:
  • Personal access to math instructors and/or their assistants, who are available several hours per week to answer questions specific to the students in their class (office hours). See your syllabus.
  • MERC Lab: a room open 6-11 hours per, day six days per week, which is staffed with personnel who are available to help students with specific math questions for MATH 1070, 1080, 1110, 1120, 1130, 1401, 2411, and 2421 on a drop-in basis.
  • Free tutoring through the Learning Resources Center, a structured tutoring service in which one tutor works with a group of students enrolled in the same class. Specific questions related to homework or quiz problems are not directly addressed.
  • MATH 1110 and 1401 offer supplemental instruction through recitations for two hours per week. This allows students to have additional practice and feedback and has shown to improve student performance.

Advice for the new student:

  • Do all of your assigned work on a regular basis. Mathematics is like a language and the more regularly you work on it the better you'll understand it.
  • Do not try to memorize how to solve problems. Mathematics is about logical thinking. Try to understand why you are doing what you are doing.
  • Read ahead. Even if you do not understand more than the first page or two, having seen the material before helps improve comprehension during lecture.
  • Work on homework problems in a positive environment. Get a study group together. If one person understands a concept s/he can explain it to others. If everyone in the group is having difficulty with a particular concept then it is time to visit the instructor during office hours.
  • Advice from students to students: Advice for Precalculus (MATH 1130).

Additional helpful assistance:

Taking your first math course:

Take your first math class early. To get a degree in a reasonable amount of time (4-5 years), the appropriate level math class should be taken your first semester, and a math course should be taken each subsequent semester until all math courses required for your particular degree have been taken. For example, a student who wants to major in engineering is typically expected to take and pass MATH 1401, Calculus I, during their first year. After passing Calculus I, the minimum length of time that is needed to get a BS in engineering is three years. Similarly, a student who wants to get a BS in business is expected to take and pass MATH 1080, Polynomial Calculus, their first year, and after passing Polynomial Calculus, the minimum length of time that a student needs to get a BS in business is three years. This is a minimum length of time and it may take longer depending upon the number of classes a student passes each semester and whether the student takes classes during the summer. 

Be mathematically prepared for your first math class. To be successful in a particular math class, you must understand thoroughly the prerequisite material and be accurate with calculations. Many students believe they are prepared and later learn they are not, usually about half way through the semester, and this results in a non-passing grade or withdrawal, causing the student to have to take the appropriate math course the following semester. The math class a student takes their first semester directly affects the length of time it takes a student to get a degree. It is crucial that you take the appropriate math class the first semester, preferably the highest level math class you are prepared for and comfortable taking.

Take a math course every semester at University of Colorado Denver until you have completed your mathematics requirement. Some students put off their math course as long as possible. This puts them in a very stressful situation because then if they do not pass the course, their planned graduation date has to be postponed. To make steady progress toward your degree, you should try to take one math course per semester, beginning with a math course at the appropriate level, so that the chance of successfully completing the course is highest. Taking a semester "break" from mathematics causes significant amount of loss in mathematical skills and then requires significant review to regain the lost skills. We also highly recommend students take all their college-level math courses at University of Colorado Denver. Students who take their math courses at University of Colorado Denver perform significantly better in successive math, science and engineering courses. The average grade in follow-up courses for students who took the prerequisite course at Univrsity of Colorado Denver is between a tenth and a quarter grade higher than for other students.

How to register:

You should first try to register for your class online.

If you cannot register for any classes, please see your college advisor.

If you can register for some classes, but are having difficulty registering for your math class, then it is likely that the system does not recognize that you have met the prerequisite requirement.

If you want to register for MATH 1401

You must meet the prerequisite requirements. See prerequisite information​ for algebra and calculus. If you do meet the requirement through an ACT or SAT score, it is possible that these scores are not in your University of Colorado Denver records; see your college advisor about how to get the scores into your records. If you meet the requirement, but your score is not in the system, then you will need to bring proof that you have met the prerequisite requirement to either the math staff (generally available at the Student Commons Building, 4th floor, 8:15 a.m.-4:45 p.m., Monday through Friday, 303-315-1700) or Mike Kawai (MERC Lab, NC 4015, 303-556-8532).

If you want to register for a math course other than MATH 1401

If that course has a prerequisite, then you must have received a C- or better in the prerequisite course. If you believe you have taken an equivalent course at another institution and this course is on your UC Denver transcript, then you should be able to register for the course.

However, if you believe you have satisfied the prerequisites and are unable to register for this course, you may not receive permission from the department to enroll until the prerequisites appear on your University of Colorado Denver records. There is no exception to this policy.

Please carefully read our prerequisite policy:

The Department of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences' policy on prerequisite completion is strict. We will not sign a student into a course requiring that prerequisite until the courseshows up on the student's record in the University of Colorado Denver system as having transferred as the correct University of Colorado Denver  prerequisiteA hard copy of the student's record is not sufficient, because these documentscan be easily altered. The student must contact the registrar to confirm that their transcripts have been processed. Once the course has transferred as the correct University of Colorado Denver prerequisite course, then the student should be able to register for the new course themselves.

After confirming with the registrar that your transcripts have been processed, but you still cannot register for the course, you may contact mathstaff@ucdenver.edu or (303-315-1700) to verify your records. Please provide your student ID number. It may be that the course transferred but not as the correct prerequisite. If this is the case, then you will need to take the prerequisite course here at University of Colorado Denver before you can take the course that you want to take. However, if the course did transfer as the correct prerequisite and you still cannot register then (and only then!) will we help you register.