Easiest & Hardest ASU Online Math Courses

Which ASU Online math and statistics courses to expect the least trouble from, and which ones to plan around.

Quick Answer: Of ASU’s eight most common online math and statistics courses, MAT 114 and MAT 142 (College Mathematics) are the easiest — both run on ALEKS and stick to sets, probability, statistics, and finance with no calculus or algebra gatekeeping attached. MAT 117 (College Algebra) and STP 226 (Elements of Statistics) sit in the middle. MAT 170 (Precalculus), MAT 210 (Brief Calculus), PSY 230 (Introduction to Statistics), and ECN 221 (Business Statistics) are the hardest, each pairing a compressed 7.5-week session with a platform that offers little room for error.

ASU Math & Statistics Courses, Easiest to Hardest

ASU groups its own course difficulty into three practical tiers. The table below keeps that grouping and adds the specific reason each course lands where it does — the platform, the grading structure, and what’s actually at stake if the grade slips.

Tier Course Platform Why It Lands Here
Easiest MAT 114 – College Mathematics ALEKS Terminal general-studies math for 2024+ catalog students. Covers sets, counting, probability, basic statistics, and finance, with no algebra manipulation and no prerequisite chain riding on it.
Easiest MAT 142 – College Mathematics ALEKS Same content and structure as MAT 114, offered to pre-2024 catalog students. Same reason it’s manageable: terminal course, no calculus or algebra sequence depends on the grade.
Moderate MAT 117 – College Algebra ALEKS Five content units (functions through systems of equations) instead of the lighter MAT 114/142 syllabus, and it’s a prerequisite for ASU’s calculus sequence, so a low grade here has downstream consequences the terminal courses don’t carry.
Moderate STP 226 – Elements of Statistics Google Sheets + Canvas Google Sheets is a gentler learning curve than the dedicated statistics software used in PSY 230, which is the main reason this course sits below the hardest tier despite being a required statistics course for several programs.
Hardest MAT 170 – Precalculus ALEKS ALEKS accepts only a single final answer with no partial credit, and knowledge checks can un-master topics a student already finished. MAT 170 is also the gateway to ASU’s MAT 265/270 calculus sequence for STEM and Engineering majors, so the stakes of the grade compound the platform’s difficulty.
Hardest MAT 210 – Brief Calculus Gradarius Gradarius requires worked steps rather than a single final answer, carries a 70% gate requirement, and weights exams at 70% of the final grade. Required for nearly every W.P. Carey Business major.
Hardest PSY 230 – Introduction to Statistics JASP + Canvas Adds a dedicated statistical software package on top of the statistics content itself, a second learning curve most students haven’t dealt with before, layered onto a required course for Psychology and RN-to-BSN students.
Hardest ECN 221 – Business Statistics WebAssign + Excel Combines two separate tools, WebAssign for problem sets and Excel for applied work, required for W.P. Carey Business majors, on top of the same 7.5-week compression every ASU Online course runs on.

What Actually Separates Easiest From Hardest

The gap between the easiest and hardest tiers isn’t really about which topics are “harder” math — it comes down to three structural factors that stack on top of each other:

1. Platform grading tolerance. ALEKS and Gradarius accept exact answers in exact formats, with no partial credit for a mostly-right approach. Courses that add a second software layer on top — JASP for PSY 230, Excel for ECN 221 — introduce a formatting and syntax learning curve separate from the math itself.
2. What the grade gates. MAT 114 and MAT 142 are terminal — nothing downstream depends on the grade. MAT 117 and MAT 170 gate ASU’s calculus sequence; MAT 210 and ECN 221 gate progression in W.P. Carey Business programs. The same platform difficulty carries more weight when a program requirement rides on it.
3. Session compression. Every course on this list runs on ASU Online’s 7.5-week Session A/B format, roughly doubling the weekly time commitment compared to a 16-week semester. This factor is constant across the list, which is why it doesn’t separate easy from hard on its own — but it’s part of why even the “moderate” tier feels heavier than the course title suggests.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the easiest ASU Online math course?

MAT 114 and MAT 142 (both called College Mathematics, for different catalog years) are ASU’s most manageable general-studies math options. Both run on ALEKS and cover sets, probability, basic statistics, and finance rather than algebra or calculus, and neither gates entry into a harder course sequence.

What is the hardest ASU Online math or statistics course?

MAT 170 (Precalculus), MAT 210 (Brief Calculus), PSY 230 (Introduction to Statistics), and ECN 221 (Business Statistics) are ASU’s hardest online math and statistics courses. Each combines a compressed 7.5-week session with an unforgiving platform: ALEKS for MAT 170, Gradarius for MAT 210, JASP for PSY 230, and WebAssign plus Excel for ECN 221.

Is MAT 117 College Algebra harder than MAT 114 or MAT 142?

Yes. MAT 117 sits in the moderate tier, above MAT 114 and MAT 142. All three run on ALEKS, but MAT 117 covers functions, polynomial and rational functions, and systems of equations, and it serves as a prerequisite for ASU’s calculus sequence, which raises the stakes of a low grade.

Why is MAT 210 Brief Calculus considered hard even though it isn’t full calculus?

MAT 210 runs on Gradarius rather than ALEKS, requiring step-by-step work instead of a single final answer, and carries a 70% gate requirement with exams weighted at 70% of the grade. It is also required for nearly all W.P. Carey Business majors, so a poor grade affects progression into upper-division coursework.

Are ASU Online statistics courses harder than the algebra courses?

For most students, yes. PSY 230 and ECN 221 both fall in ASU’s hardest tier because they pair statistics content with a software platform on top of the material itself: PSY 230 uses JASP, and ECN 221 uses WebAssign and Excel together. STP 226, by contrast, uses Google Sheets and sits in the moderate tier.

Does the 7.5-week ASU Online session make every course harder?

It raises the difficulty of every course, but it hits the already-hard courses hardest. A course that needs 9 hours a week over a 16-week semester needs roughly 18 hours a week compressed into 7.5 weeks. Courses in the hardest tier combine that compression with unforgiving platform grading, which is what separates them from the moderate and manageable tiers.

Whichever tier your course falls in, FMMC can help. Every engagement includes an A or B grade guarantee, across ALEKS, Gradarius, JASP, Google Sheets, and WebAssign. Get a free quote.

Related: ASU Online Math & Statistics Hub