Too Many Underprepared Students In College?: Remedial Education

            We often discuss the rising demand for higher education.  It seems that enrollment steadily increases every academic year.  According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), enrollment in the nation’s degree-granting institutions grew by 38 percent between 1999 and 2009 (“Fast Facts,” 2011).  There were over 19 million students attending degree granting institutions in America by the end of that decade (“Enrollment, Staff, and Degrees Conferred,” 2011).   At first glance, these are very encouraging statistics.  They tell us that more Americans are getting an education and the schools which they attend are bringing in more revenue through tuition, government subsidies, and a higher number of future alumni donations.  However, some claim that high demand and enrollment can be a driving force for rising costs in higher education.  Because there is also an increasing number of students are entering college underprepared for college coursework, precious resources (money and faculty time) are having to be dedicated to addressing the remedial needs of students.

            A 2006 article in The Chronicle for Higher Education suggests that remedial education costs community colleges approximately 1.4 billion dollars a year (“Remediation’s Cost to Community Colleges,” 2006).  A study performed by the Florida Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA) found that 78% of the state’s community college students and 10% of its university students received remedial instruction at a price of 118.3 million dollars in a single year (Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability, 2006). And there are numerous other examples of state expenditures on remedial college instruction that are just as eye-opening as the examples I have included here.  These are enormous sums of money that could potentially strain college and university budgets requiring them to request larger subsidies from public sources and possibly even raise tuition in an effort to hire additional faculty members and support staff, provide the classes necessary to address the remedial needs of students, and purchase the necessary remedial materials for use in those classes.  How are we to remedy this growing issue? 

            There are varying opinions on how to address this issue.  The first I will mention is an opinion that I know (through previous class conversations) several of our classmates hold as well.  The opinion is that remedial education has no place in the college setting and should be eliminated altogether.  If we were to greatly reduce or eliminate these course offerings it could save billions (if we believe the figures above to be accurate).  However, eliminating the courses could also have greater consequences than spending the money necessary to provide the class.  Many claim that the cost of having an uneducated America would cost much, much more than remedial education does now.   

A second opinion is that remedial education plays a vital role in providing access to many underprepared students and must not only be kept but made more efficient and effective.  Boylan (1999) states that “for a great many students with weak academic backgrounds and low placement scores, the investment of time and money in remedial courses is necessary if they are to have any hope of succeeding in college” (Boylan, 1999, para. 10).  Boylan also offers several alternatives to the traditional tutoring sessions and developmental courses most commonly found.  These alternatives include: Full-term freshman seminars, supplemental instruction, learning communities, collaborative learning, and paired courses.  There is also the possibility of using technology to make remediation more efficient.  As we have discussed in class, these lower level courses lend themselves to the online environment, but close attention must be paid to the process as many students requiring such classes may not possess the level of self-direction needed to succeed in such an environment.

There is no consensus that I have found on the “best practices” of remedial education at the college level. As a matter of fact there is even disagreement on the true cost of remedial efforts by colleges (although the evidence did seem quite convincing). The solution will more than likely include a combination of Boylan’s alternatives listed above as well as the use of online education.  Personally, after researching this issue, I think the better question is how can money be best spent at the K-12 level to ensure that all students interested in pursuing a college degree are prepared to do so?   

References

Boylan, H.R. (1999). Exploring alternatives to remediation. Journal of Developmental Education, 22(3). Retrieved from http://www.ncde.appstate.edu/resources/reports/ documents/V22-3alternatives_to_remediation.htm

Enrollment, staff, and degrees conferred in postsecondary institutions participating in Title IV programs, by type and control of institution, sex of student, type of staff, and type of degree: Fall 2008, fall 2009, and 2008-09. (2011). Retrieved October 21, 2011, from http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d10/tables/dt10_195.asp

Fast Facts. (2011). Retrieved October 21, 2011, from http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=98

Florida Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability. (2006). Steps Can Be Taken to Reduce Remediation Rates; 78% of Community College Students, 10% of University Students Need Remediation (Report No. 06-40). Retrieved from http://www.oppaga.state.fl.us/reports/pdf/0640rpt.pdf

Remediation’s Cost to Community Colleges Is Open to Question. (2006). Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/article/Remediations-Cost-to/37499/