Since Breneman and Haarlow (1998) first estimated the national cost of developmental education to be approximately $1 billion dollars, the developmental education landscape has shifted in numerous ways. This paper provides an update to their estimate in light of both these changes and improved data that disaggregates the cost to community colleges…

In 1984, 94 college freshmen attended the SEEK Prefreshman Summer Program at Baruch College in the city of New York. This program, held for six weeks during the summer prior to college, provided skills remediation, counseling, and financial aid to freshmen from educationally and economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Its goal was to improve…

Thirty-nine at-risk college freshmen participated in an eight week non-credit seminar in the Fall of 1989. At the beginning of the seminar, students indicated that they enjoyed reading, did leisure reading, and felt that lack of vocabulary, slow reading rate, and inability to concentrate were their major reading problems. They also described their…

Discusses high dropout and failure rate at the Distance Teaching University of South Africa; describes development of a transitional study program to give underprepared students remedial assistance, including course organization, content, and student participation; reviews research on the program's effectiveness; and outlines strategies to…

This report reviews the college preparatory programs offered to state university students in Florida through partnerships with local community colleges. Courses are offered either at the community college or by the community college on the university campus. The program review was conducted by the State Board of Community Colleges in cooperation…

The 16 chapters of this volume describe a wide variety of developmental programs intended to promote skill development and enhance academic performance for high-risk students at all levels of higher education. Following an introductory chapter by the editors, the chapters are: (1) "The Origin, Scope, and Outcomes of Developmental Education in the…

The study sought to determine the effects of a summer bridge program on the academic, personal, and social development of underrepresented and low-income students during their first year at the University of California, Los Angeles. The 1988 cohort of students enrolled in the Freshman Summer Program/Transfer Summer Program (FSP/TSP) were tracked…

Discusses some of the difficulties encountered by adult learners in mathematics courses required for re-entry into college. Describes the restructuring of such a course. Emphasizes student inquiry and a teaching/learning model. Discusses the roles of staff and students. (TW)

The Prefreshman Summer Program for academically and economically handicapped students at the City University of New York (CUNY) was evaluated in 1985 and compared to previous evaluations. The voluntary, 6-week transitional program provides intensive basic skills instruction, tutoring, counseling, and financial aid to incoming students who fail to…

Describes a University of Wisconsin program that maintains summer institutes and seminars between university, college, and high school history teachers. Priorities have included upgrading the critical-thinking and research skills of secondary school students. A serendipitous benefit has been an increased mastery of the recent literature by…

This paper presents the results of a search for an appropriate test of critical thinking to screen college freshmen. The search for an appropriate test of critical thinking was initiated in the Fall 1995 semester at an open-admissions comprehensive university, which normally assigns entering freshmen with ACT composite scores of 17 or less to…

This study examined the effect of academic peer mentors on the grade-point averages of underprepared freshmen at Mount Vernon Nazarene College (Ohio), a church-related coeducational college of arts and sciences. Underprepared freshmen at this school are required to participate in the College Experience Enhancement Program. For the fall, 1993 term,…

This paper examines remedial programs in colleges and discusses the relationship of those programs to diagnostic testing. The Basic Skills Placement Test (BSPT) is required of all College freshman in New Jersey public colleges. Mercer County Community College, used as an example throughout this paper, uses the BSPT as a basis for placing students…

Asserts that taking Introduction to College Writing, a fundamental writing course at Central Missouri State University, improves student academic achievement by developing their basic writing skills and preparing them for more advanced, general education writing courses. (VWC)

The summer "bridge" part of the Special Transitional Enrichment Program (STEP) at the University of California (UC), Davis, was evaluated with attention to first-year academic performance and retention. STEP, part of the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP), is an orientation and academic program to help low-income and minority students…