Background: This multiple case study explores the self-determination needs of academically underprepared students. The context for our study was a sweeping redesign of developmental education (DE) in Florida's community colleges, state-level legislation Senate Bill 1720 (SB 1720), which made DE optional for many students. Purpose of Study: The…

Background: This multiple case study explores the self-determination needs of academically underprepared students. The context for our study was a sweeping redesign of developmental education (DE) in Florida's community colleges, state-level legislation Senate Bill 1720 (SB 1720), which made DE optional for many students. Purpose of Study: The…

College completion rates are low--nearly 40 percent of students do not earn a degree within six years of enrolling in college. Community college students face the highest hurdles--about 60 percent are without a degree six years after matriculating. Research has identified strategies that institutions can use to improve student success and degree…

Recent years have brought an increasing amount of attention to the educational experiences and outcomes for men of color. As a group, these students experience some of the lowest rates of success in community college. These inequities in education start early, fueled by racial/gender dynamics, stereotyping, and growing up in under-resourced…

Student placement test records, course enrollments, and other student-level data collected by community colleges are vital for evaluating the outcomes of students in developmental education (dev-ed) courses. Researchers and policymakers rely on this information to examine the impact of existing programs and assess ongoing reforms to dev-ed -- the…

The recent focus on improving college completion rates has resulted in the paring down--or complete removal--of semester-long developmental education courses. Considering the magnitude these policies have on placement, teaching, and learning outcomes, this study examined faculty observations (N=420) about students' current and longitudinal college…

Changing placement policy may help to improve developmental education student outcomes in community colleges, but there is little understanding of the impacts of these reforms. We take advantage of heterogeneous placement policy in a large urban community college district in California to compare the effects of math remediation under different…

This policy brief highlights the trajectories of Latina/o students who test into developmental coursework at California community colleges and brings attention to the obstacles created by these courses. The authors use quantitative data from the Basic Skills Progress Cohort Tracking Tool (Progress Tracker) from the California Community Colleges…

Nationwide, community colleges struggle with how to improve the poor outcomes of students referred to developmental education. Based on a case study of an urban community college system, this paper sets forth an "opposing forces framework" to help diagnose the underlying issues that may thwart colleges' efforts to improve developmental outcomes.…

Having garnered national attention, high failure rates in developmental education present a significant barrier to state and national policymakers' goals of increasing the percentage of adults who earn a college credential. However, a majority of the research fails to consider why students place into developmental education. This piece examines a…

West Virginia Code §18B-1D-8 statutorily mandates the West Virginia Higher Education Report Card. This annual accountability report provides year-end higher education statistics for both of the state's higher education systems, the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission (Commission) and West Virginia Council for Community and Technical…

For many students entering community colleges, the first stop on campus is to an assessment center. More than half of these students will be placed into developmental education as a result of their scores on reading, writing, and mathematics entry assessments, yet there is little evidence that this improves student outcomes. We examine alternative…

There is wide agreement that the well-paying jobs of the future will require postsecondary credentials. But for many students attending community college, developmental (or remedial) classes in reading, composition, and/or mathematics--the courses that students often must complete before they can enroll in courses that confer credit toward a…

Chaffey College, a three campus college with approximately 20,000 students located California's Inland Empire, has become the destination of many community college practitioners from around the country. The reason why? Over the past ten years, the college has become nationally-known as an institution with a "risk tolerant change-oriented…

The passage of the Higher Education Act of 1965, which extended need-based financial assistance to the general population for the first time, has improved college access for American students, but more work remains to be done to improve college success. According to government statistics, in 2006, about one in six students had earned a degree or…