Low rates of college completion are a major problem in the United States. Less than 60 percent of students at four-year colleges graduate within six years, and at some colleges, the graduation rate is less than 10 percent. Additionally, many students enter higher education ill-prepared to comprehend college-level course material. Some estimates…

Over the past 15 years, the Department of Education has continuously reported the increasing need for developmental and remedial education at post secondary institutions. Furthermore, only 16% of all college students are traditional aged 18-22 year old residential students, while 12 million college students are over the age of 25 (Nunley, 2007,…

Although two-thirds of Texas college-bound high school graduates are prepared for college work, a large number of recent graduates and adults returning to pursue higher education are not college ready. Those underprepared for college face the hurdle of completing remedial courses--known as developmental education--in one or all core subject areas…

Reports the success of the remedial/foundations courses at the University of Houston Downtown College and their incorporation into regular university structure, and describes the increasing acceptance of special student support services. Includes a bibliography. (TP)

A national study on Adult Functional Competency, conducted by the University of Texas, determined that less than one-half of the adult population (46%) was proficient in handling the demands of modern living. Educators have never done even an adequate job of educating the country's people. If the primary goal of the teaching profession is to…

Developmental studies programs are a reality in many colleges and universities, and where they do not now exist, the likelihood of their presence in the near future is high. Student developmental programs are a key ingredient within institutional resources to improve chances of success for students in developmental studies. Student development is…

The articles in this collection focus on learning assistance and other components of college reading instruction. The topics of the 35 articles include the following: (1) charting a realistic course for learning assistance, (2) modern measurement technology, (3) a national survey of learning assistance evaluation, (4) students' cognitive…

Defines postsecondary remedial education and discusses the controversy surrounding it, including who will be responsible for paying its tuition, the amount of remediation that should be offered in two-year versus four-year colleges, and mounting pressures from state legislators and policymakers. (VWC)

Research findings on college instruction and basic skills deficiencies are discussed in 12 papers from the first Regional Conference on University Teaching. Titles and authors are as follows: "Basic Skills: Dealing with Deficiencies" (Susanne D. Roueche, with responses by Gary B. Donart, Betty Harris, and James Nordyke); "Is Higher Education an…

Gainesville College (GC) in Georgia conducted a study to determine how many traditional-aged students enter the school with General Education Development (GED) certificates and how well they progress academically. Students monitored were those who received their GED at 21 years of age or younger and entered GC within 4 years of receiving the…