Remedial education for college students gets a boost

June 22, 7:57 AMCollege Admissions ExaminerLauren Starkey

Previous Next

1 comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the College Admissions Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

 

The Chronicle of Higher Education reports this morning that The Gates Foundation has given $16.5 million in grants to 15 community colleges. The grants will support its program that works to improve college-level remedial education and raise graduation rates of low-income and minority students. The program was begun last year and is the first effort of the Foundation in higher education. Colleges receiving today’s grants are in Connecticut, Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas and Virginia. All except North Carolina will also receive money for state programs in support of remedial education.

A study conducted by Jobs for the Future concluded that nearly 60 percent of community college students need high school-level remedial classes. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer cites a cost of more than $2 billion a year for such classes, noting that “some of that money is wasted because many students don't complete the classes or continue their education.”  Indeed. The Department of Education reports that dropout rates for minority and low-income students remains over 50%.

The Gates Foundation is working with MDC, Inc., a North Carolina non-profit created to “help the state transition from a segregated, agricultural work force to an integrated, industrial work force.” Since it was established in 1967, it has served as a model for other programs such as Head Start and VISTA.

In the colleges chosen for the grants, over 133,000 students take remedial classes. Pilot programs run last year by MDC and The Gates Foundation saw a rise of 16-20% in the number of students moving from remedial to college-level classes.

Carol Lincoln, director of developmental education for MDC, told The Seattle PI, “colleges that can figure out how to quickly and efficiently boost basic skills, particularly among students of color and low-income students, will play a leading role in helping them earn the college degrees necessary for economic success in America today.”