When he first announced his retirement last fall,
Hans Brisch said that of all the honors bestowed upon him over the
years, he was most proud of being informally recognized as Oklahoma's
"student success chancellor." And if remediation figures released
today are any indication, that moniker has little chance of disappearing.
During today's regularly scheduled meeting, the Oklahoma State Regents
for Higher Education released their annual Student Remediation Report,
which showed that remediation rates among new college freshmen continue
to improve and that Oklahoma remediation rates are consistent with
those in other states.
"The success of Oklahoma's students will always be a priority for
the State Regents," Chancellor Brisch said. "I am encouraged by
this latest report that shows that our high school students are
continuing to improve in their preparations for college. It's this
kind of effort - from both our schools and our students - that will
help push our great state forward as we enter the 21st century and
into a knowledge-based economy."
Brisch added that higher education has a moral obligation to ensure
that students coming straight out of high school or returning adult
students have the necessary skills and education to succeed in college,
noting that colleges in states that require remediation have witnessed
improved student retention and success levels.
Remedial courses are non-credit courses required in Oklahoma public
colleges and universities for students who do not demonstrate minimum
competencies in one or more of four areas: mathematics, English,
reading and science. Students who score below 19 on an ACT subject
test in those areas must either enroll in a remedial course or undergo
additional testing in that subject area.
The study revealed that for first-time freshmen who entered college
during the 2000-2001 academic year, 37 percent enrolled in remedial
courses, the smallest percentage in five years. A total of 31.9
percent enrolled in remedial math, while 13.7 percent enrolled in
remedial English.
The study also showed that between fall 1995 and fall 2000, the
percentage of freshmen with ACT scores below 19 in the subject areas
of mathematics, English, science and reading declined. English enjoyed
the largest decrease - 6.6 percentage points (27.2 to 20.6 percent)
while reading saw the smallest decrease - 1.8 percentage points
(20.7 to 18.9 percent). Mathematics had the second highest decrease
of 6.2 percentage points (33.7 to 27.5 percent) and science a close
third at 5 percentage points (21.4 to 16.4 percent).
It was no surprise to Regents that the study showed adults required
more remediation than students who enrolled in college directly
from high school. During 2000-2001, approximately 51 percent of
adult freshmen enrolled in remedial courses compared with 36.6 percent
of freshmen direct from high school. The report shows that in the
2000-2001 academic year 35,378 students enrolled in remedial classes,
with the majority - approximately 75.8 percent (26,814 students)
- taking remedial courses at the two-year colleges.
"Our community colleges continue to provide more remediation courses
to students in the State System, which is consistent with their
mission and the State Regents' goal of focusing the majority of
remediation at the two-year level. In fact, community colleges provide
approximately 60 percent of remedial instruction nationwide," State
Regents' Chairman Joe Mayer said, noting that State System institutions
generated approximately $2.1 million from student-paid remedial
course fees.
Students taking remedial courses pay an extra fee for each course
they take. The current fees, which cover the direct cost of providing
remedial courses, range from $39 for a three-hour course at a state
two-year college to $72 for a three-hour course at a comprehensive
university.
The report concluded that providing remedial courses benefits those
students who need it the most - under-prepared high school students,
place-bound returning adult students and students for whom English
is a second language - and that the higher education levels ultimately
achieved by those students have a direct, positive effect on society
and the state's economy as a whole.
State Regents have undertaken several initiatives since 1993 to
help students better prepare for college.
Regents have increased the high school core curricular requirements
for college admission from 11 courses to 15 and implemented the
Educational Planning and Assessment System (EPAS), which provides
eighth and 10th grade students information about how they are progressing
academically in core content areas. Approximately 80 percent of
all Oklahoma's school districts currently participate in EPAS, which
accounts for more than 90 percent of all eighth and tenth graders
in the state. Regents have also strengthened teacher preparation
by requiring all elementary, special education and early childhood
development education majors to complete 12 credit hours in each
of four subjects - mathematics, English, science and social sciences.
They also added a third option for college admission based solely
on a student's GPA in the State Regents' 15-unit high school core
curriculum; and most recently began publicly recognizing Oklahoma
high schools that demonstrate superior student preparation.
The U.S. Department of Education awarded Oklahoma with a state GEAR UP grant totaling $20.5 million in August 1999. The grant has been matched by more than $25 million from state and partner resources. With funds totaling $45.5 million, GEAR UP receives 45 percent of total funding from the federal government and 55 percent from other organizations.
