Due to concerns about student performance in Intermediate Accounting I, our Department of Accounting established an Intermediate Readiness Committee in the spring of 2006 to create a developmental program for students entering Intermediate I, with the goal of improving performance in that course. Over the next two years, the Committee established…

National studies reveal that 50 percent to 70 percent of community college students are required to take developmental, or remedial, math courses upon enrollment, and only 20 percent of developmental math students ever successfully complete a college-level math course. Taking up the challenge is the "New Mathways Project" (NMP),…

Results from the second phase of a project to investigate strategies and outcomes associated with the assessment and evaluation of developmental/remedial/basic skills programs in New York State are presented in this report. Part I introduces the Assessment of Effectiveness of Developmental Programs in Postsecondary Education project, and the major…

Drawing from an extensive literature review and interviews with faculty and administrators in the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD), this study report examines successful practices in basic skills instruction in community colleges. After providing background on the importance of basic skills programs in light of the increasing number…

Summarizes the literature on developmental reading and writing programs by discussing strategies for addressing remedial needs and obstacles to remediation. Presents the results of internal evaluations of developmental reading programs conducted at four colleges. Defines 16 strategies used by community colleges to implement effective remedial…

A study was done of the specific program characteristics of remedial and developmental programs at institutions of higher education in the 15 states of the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB). The data and findings were part of a larger survey of public and private colleges and universities by SREB which examined remedial enrollment and the…

These three serial issues focus on the characteristics and administration of developmental education programs. The following articles are featured: (1) "Characteristics of Successful Programs," which reviews research findings concerning the characteristics associated with effective and ineffective developmental programs and includes a list of…

In this newsletter focusing on helping college students succeed, an introductory essay by David Shroyer examines experiences with developmental studies at the University of New Orleans and issues in serving underprepared students, especially problems of attitude on campus. Suggestions for success include: an informal support network, a team…

The Department of Developmental Education (DDE) at Peirce Junior College (PJC) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, serves a student population that is 56% minority, 85% first-generation college students, and 80% academically underprepared. In an effort to improve academic and counseling services to PJC's educationally disadvantaged students, a tutorial…

This digest reviews the role of community colleges in delivering remedial education. With demand for remediation increasing, community colleges are under pressure to provide, with very limited financial resources, the bulk of developmental courses for students. In finding effective solutions to this dilemma, policy makers should consider a broad…

"Informed math self-placement," a program implemented at American River College in Sacramento, California, to determine students' readiness for college-level math, has been in place for three years. This case study describes the development and implementation of math self-placement at American River. Math self-placement consists of a…