Policy Options Brief on Barriers to College Success

Policy Options Brief on Barriers to College Success

To: Community Colleges in New York State; Dean of Academic Affairs

From: Johanna Torres

Date: February 18, 2016

RE: Barriers to College Success (College Remediation)

The number of students who enter into college remediation after graduating from high school continues to increase in the United States. Students are entering higher education institutions lacking basic skills needed to be successful in college. “About 1.7 million students in the United States fall into remediation and more than 50% of students who apply to community college need to take remediation classes.”[i]Students who enter into remediation are more likely to struggle and eventually drop out. Mainly due to lack of motivation and spending a semester or a year taking courses and not accumulatingcredits, “For years, remediation has been at the forefront of the state’s higher education concerns. Data has shown that students who test deficiently in subjects and pay for courses that don’t carry credits towards graduation are more likely to drop out.”[ii]

Why are students failing into remediation? Unfortunately, many students in the United Statesenter college out of high school inadequately prepared for college level work. Most community colleges guarantees acceptance for those who have a high school diploma, however, a high school diploma does not guarantees a student’sability in reading, writing and math. The Board of Education in New York ispre-occupied with two things, one, getting students to graduate even if it means low passing scores on the regents and/or two, getting rid of students who have a hard time passing exams and transitioning them into CBO’s (Community Based Organizations).The outcome of both of these? Administration gets rid of low academic achieving students, increasing their overall city ranking. Students go through high school without the ability to write an essay or solve algebraic equations. Students who reach their 4th year of high school still needing regents to graduate are intercepted by CBO’s, who then try to make a change in the student’s academic career, but many times it is already too late. They have throughout high school doing the bare minimum to pass classes. How did they get this far without the ability to read, write or do high school level math? In high school it is possible to take an English class, pass it but fail the regents. The regents does not stop a student from passing to the next grade but it can delaythe student from graduating. Because the CBO’s are intended to graduate the student, the focus is on passing the regents, not showing students how to read and write.

Students who fall into remediation are required to take remedial English and/or math in order to take college level Math, English and Science. Remedial courses are not credit bearing andcan cost thousands of dollars. The consequences of taking remedial courses means that students take longer to graduate, spend financial aid dollars (for those receiving financial aid)and/or major in something they have no interest in. For example, at a community college in Brooklyn a student who we will call Samantha wants to major in Biology. However, she is currently taking remedial Math (m1). In her first semester, Samanthatakes math m1, and other classes not related to her major (she is not allowed to take Bio classes unless she passes remediation). Once she passes m1 she can go on to m2 (another math remediation). This student has now lost 1 year of academic credits and is forced to graduate late. It is only after she passes math m2 that she can start taking college level math and science courses towards her major. This student is now forced to stay in a community college for a minimum of 3 years and use financial aid dollars that could have gone towards a senior college. The risk? “Nearly 4 in 10 remedial students in Community Colleges never complete their remedial courses”[iii]What are some of the consequences of dropping out of college for all people?

$3.8 Billion in lost income
$566 million in lost federal income taxes
$164 million In lost state income taxes

(Estimates from 2002 and one class of students)[iv]

When students do not complete their college plan, they are left with high debt and low possibility to acquire a good job/career. “College dropouts suffer above-average unemployment rates. As of June 2012, applicants with some college experience emerged as a majority of unemployed job seekers for the first time, at 52 percent.”[v]In 2009, in the state of the union address, president Obama pledged to support postsecondary education and ensures graduation rates will go up by 2020. However, in order to achieve this goal we must address and stream line the inadequacy and deficiencies incoming high schoolstudents have entering college. A key underlying cause of this problem is the misalignment between high school graduation standards and college expectations. It is possible to assume that if we have a system in place that can prep students while still in high school the remediation needs would be lower. I call this proposal “College Success 3 in 1”. With intensive preparation in the high school level (1), Intensive training in college (If students fail entrance exam) (2), and intrusive advisement (3), students are guaranteed to succeed in college. The goals of the College Success 3 in 1 program consist of the following:

To identify students scoring below college proficiency by classifying students who score between 65-75 in their English and Math regents.
A College Pre-Requisite course is mandatory for those who score between 65-75 (for those who score above this number, the course is not mandatory).
To give students the opportunity to start college by taking credit bearing courses to graduate on time.
Alleviate the burden of paying for classes that do not count towards intended major.
Partner students with advisors that will keep track of their progress, hold them accountable and be their advocators through college.
Have students graduate from college.

Step 1 High School:What can be done during high school? “Some blame students under-preparedness for college on the shortcoming of the public schools that are the primary supplier of college bound students”[vi]As soon asstudents enter 11th gradea college pre-requisite class should be incorporated into their curriculum for the remaining 2 years of high school.High school students start to look into colleges during their junior year. It is the perfect time to introduce a college class that will assist in passing the college entrance exam. High school counselors must speak on the importance of the exam and how pivotal it is for college success. This class will be mandatory based on regent’s scores. Students who score above 75 in math and English are not mandated to take this course. Because the first step is the most vital these courses must have a few Key Characteristics:

Intensity- The program needs to be rigorous and employ professionals with a college/university background. The course must be treated like a regular high school course and must be passed in order to graduate.
Commitment- Students should be committed to succeed in these classes and teachers must have a passion to teach, parent involvement is highly encouraged.
Intervention Program- To track the progress of each student, students should have the opportunity to take practice assessment test to decipher college readiness.

Step 2 College: This step consist of CUNY Start, for the students who do not successfully complete remediation even after the college pre-requisite courses. As much as we would like to strive for 100% success rates, accommodations must be made for those who for one reason or another do not pass the assessment exam. What can be done after college acceptance? CUNY Start provides intensive preparation in academic reading/writing, math, and college success. The program enrolls prospective CUNY students in community colleges who have a high school or high school equivalency diploma, but are not ready for college-level work based on their scores on the CUNY Assessment Tests. Past students have shown significant skill gains when they re-test; many have bypassed required remedial coursework entirely.Most importantly the classes offered through CUNY Start are free of cost removing heavy burden from a student’s finances. After these remedial workshops are taken through CUNY start, students take the assessment exam once again with the opportunity of passing. According to CUNY Start,

“After one semester, CUNY Start students are 22.7% more likely than comparison group to achieveproficiency in reading, 35.6% more

likely to achieveproficiency in writing, and 43.7% more likely to achieveproficiency inmath.”[vii]

If students have the opportunity of intense tutoring before they test, they have a chance of testing out of remediation. CUNY Start students are treated like regular college students. They have full access to campus resources, save financial aid for credit classes and receive free textbooks for remedial training.

Step 3 Advisement:What can students do after? The goal is to have students pass above remediation and save money, but our ultimate goal is to have them graduate from college. Students who fall into remediation are in need of an advisor who will be with them through their entire college career. Building a rapport with a student is very important. It is necessary to get to know the student and conduct intrusive counseling in order to help the student achieve his/her goals. By having the same advisor through the entire college career students feel comfortable in engaging in conversation, laying out their personal and academic goals and building a feeling of trust. Programs like ASAP (Accelerated Study in Associates Program) aid in fostering relationships, motivate and encourage students throughout their college career. It is important for someone to hold students accountable through college. An advisor can do just that while at the same time keeping students moving towards graduation.

ASAP is used in all CUNY community colleges at the moment and should expand to all community colleges based on their success rates (private schools and 4 year schools). ASAP’s retention numbers are like no other. For example, there is a 71.3% retention rate compared to a 54.8% for those students who do not receive regular advisement. ASAP also accepts students who are in need of developmental course.

“Students who start ASAP with developmental needs graduateat high rates just like students who enter fully skills proficient,48% of ASAP students with developmental needs and 60% of fullyskills proficient ASAP student have graduated vs. 21% of non-asapstudents with developmental needs and 29% of fully skills proficientnon asap students.”[viii]

The most important asset is being able to listen to students and understand their concerns. The “College Success 3 in 1” policy is flexible and interchangeable. Once the student takes the Pre-Requisite for college classes and pass the assessment exam, they can go straight into taking college level courses and be paired with an advisor, if the student does not pass the assessment exam he/she can join CUNY Start where they will go through a vigorous practice session pass the assessment exam and be paired up with an advisor.

It is estimated that the US spend about “3 Billion dollars last year in remediation courses”[ix]. The solution is not to spend billions of dollars on remediation, but instead to invest that money into postsecondary college readiness education. If remediation is built on helping students prepare for college level work, it- isn’t accomplishing its goal. With 1 out of 4 students not completing remedial courses it is safe to say that remedial courses is a roadmap to failure.

Thank you for reading my letter and my concerns. Ultimately, I want to see our community thrive and we start doing this through education, but it’s hard to have a thriving community if our students are forced to quit before the race begins.

[i] Remediation, Higher Education’s Bridge to nowhere. Complete College America, April 2012.

Www. CompleteCollege.org

[ii]Patrick Malone, More College Students in Remediation. The Pueblo Chieftain, February 8th, 2012.

[iii]Remediation, Higher Education’s Bridge to nowhere. Complete College America, April 2012.

Www. CompleteCollege.org

[iv] U.S College Dropout Rate resulted in $4.5 Billion In lost Earnings and Tax Revenues Last Year. Think Progress, August 2011.

[v] Ralph Heibutzki, Effects of Dropping out of College on Students. Seattle Pi.

[vi]Jessica Howell, What influence students need for remediation in college.

[vii] City University of New York, Academic Affairs. “CUNY Start: Analysis of student outcome” November 2013

[viii] The City University of New York, Office of Academic Affairs. Accelerated Study in Associates Program, February 2015.

[ix] Remediation, Higher Education’s Bridge to nowhere. Complete College America, April 2012.