Remediation: Too many students need it, and too few succeed when they get it.

FINDING 5

75%

25%

Remedial students are much less likely to graduate.

What do we do about it?• Divert students from traditional approaches.• Mainstream students into college-level

courses, provide co-requisite and embedded support.

• Intensify instruction and minimize the time needed for preparation for college-level work.

• Eliminate exit points where students are lost by not passing or not enrolling in courses.

• Provide alternative pathways to quality career certificates.

• Overhaul the current placement system.

What do we do about it?Answer this fundamental question:

Is what’s being taught in remediation what students really need? Revisit the structure and goals of

remedial math. Make math a gateway, not a gatekeeper.

Reading and writing should be integrated.

Students are wasting time on excess credits …

FINDING 4

75%

25%

… and taking too much time to earn a degree.

Staying in school longer doesn’t significantly increase students’ chances of graduating.

• For instance, giving full-time community college students one extra year to earn an associate degree and giving full-time four-year college students two extra years to earn a bachelor’s degree only increases graduation rates by 4.9% — for both groups.

• We must help them complete faster.

What do we do about it?

• Require formal, on-time completion plans.• Enact caps of 120 credit hours for a

bachelor’s degree and 60 credit hours for an associate degree.

• Create a common general education core program to ensure consistency.

• Require full transferability of common core courses.

Nontraditional students are the new majority.

FINDING 1

75% of students are college commuters, often juggling families, jobs, and school.

25% of students attend full-time at residential colleges.

75%

25%

Graduation odds are especially low for students who are African American …

FINDING 3

… Hispanic

… older

… or poor

What do we do about it?• Use block schedules.• Allow students to proceed toward degrees or

certificates at a faster pace.• Reduce the time students spend in class

through online instruction or demonstrated competency.

• Form peer support and learning networks.• Embed remediation into the regular college

curriculum.• Provide better information on program costs

and outcomes.

Too few students graduate. For part-timers, results are tragic — even when they have twice as much time.

FINDING 2

1-year certificate within 2 years 2-year associate within 4 years

4-year bachelor’s within 8 years

What do we do about it?• Urge states to measure what matters most.– Outcome metrics

• degrees awarded annually • graduation rates• transfer rates

– Progress metrics • remediation • success in first-year math and English • credit accumulation• retention rates • course completion• time and credits to degree

What do we do about it?

• States must get serious that graduation, not just enrollment, is the goal.

• States should set completion goals, statewide and by campus.– Start with a handful of explicit, easy-to-

understand measures.– Tie a modest percentage of funding to

performance.