A striking convergence of research, documentation, commentary, and policy in the past five years strongly suggests that an almost exclusive focus on academic knowledge and skills is an incomplete solution. Additional behaviors, skills, and mindsets--sometimes called metacognitive skills or 21st-century skills--are just as necessary for academic…

Bachelor's degree attainment has become essential for U.S. labor market participation. However, degree attainment is differentially accessible across racial and economic lines. One explanation of degree disparities is that urban students often lack the social and cultural capital needed to succeed in higher education institutions. This article…

Developmental courses in English, math, and reading have an important purpose in higher education, especially in the open-access world of community colleges. These classes--also referred to as "remedial"--are intended to give less-prepared students a chance to catch up and meet the challenges of college-level coursework. However,…

More than 32,000 young people in the United States exit the foster care system in a typical year by aging out to independence (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2011). Despite available financial support for post-secondary education through the Foster Care Independence Act of 1999, only 20% of college-qualified foster youth attend college and…

Discusses ways that the Learning Assistance Center (LAC) at California State University, Long Beach, has developed to assist large numbers of students to develop learning skills. Describes LAC's classroom learning skills workshops; time management workshop; study/reading workshop; and management strategies used to elicit and maintain faculty…

Describes the developmental studies learning program at Georgia State University (GSU), focusing on two services: supplemental instruction, or extra tests and study groups directly related to course content, and adjunct course offerings, or learning-strategies instruction related to courses. Provides 10 steps for expanding the role of academic…

Describes the Supportive Services Program (SSP) at the University of Minnesota, Duluth, focusing on program objectives and components, the three-stage academic assessment process, the structure of SSP courses, the use of peer assistants, cluster scheduling, advising, and the experiences and reactions of SSP students. (AYC)

Describes a model of developmental education for college students used with great success by the Reading and Writing Center at the University of Florida. Discusses how it uses reading tests, think-alouds, and conferences to promote an exchange of learning between instructor and student. (SR)

Students in Miami-Dade Community College's remedial education courses supplement reading, writing, and mathematics coursework with computer-assisted instruction in a special electronic classroom. The experimental program is investigating whether integrating computer instruction in the basic skills curriculum helps underprepared students overcome…

Demonstrates the usefulness and practicality of the Statistical Analysis System (SAS) (1979, version 79.5) as a data base management system for a developmental studies program. SAS is available on IBM computers at educational institutions across the country, and it provides an effective tool for data management. (Author)

A rebuttal to an article by Pearl Lucas is presented. Cornell University's Committee on Special Educational Projects program, established to support the admission and adjustment of black students, is described. College and university special education programs are seen to contribute to academic achievement and promotion of scholarship. (MLW)

Suggests using principles of instruction grounded in prose learning research to develop successful college developmental skills programs. (AEA)

The structure, experiences, and results of the University of California, Davis, School of Medicine's Postbaccalaureate Reapplicant Program are used as a case study to construct a blueprint for returning 85-90 percent of program participants to shortage areas while increasing minority student admissions. This success rate has been achieved through…

Describes the Medical/Dental Education Preparatory Program (MEDPREP) of Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. Over the course of its 30-year history, 68 percent of students have been accepted to professional schools, with 92 percent being accepted to medical schools and attending 90 different medical schools in the country. Of those…

Remedial instruction in higher education heightens the tension between access and quality and raises questions about how to prepare underprepared students without watering down the degree, who should provide remedial programs, and who should pay for them. States have adopted a variety of solutions, and the most serious are costly. (MSE)