Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, September 8, 1994 TAG: 9409080082
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ALLISON BLAKE AND melissa DeVAUGHN STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
More Christiansburg graduates enroll in community colleges as freshmen. That may be evidence that statewide efforts to concentrate remedial work at two-year colleges are working.
"Those who choose community colleges are often those who think they need more work. Looking at where they're going to school, I'm pleased that at least they're trying," said Doris McElfresh, director of programs for Montgomery County schools.
A state study released Wednesday shows that one in four of Virginia's first-time freshmen needed remedial help before going through a four-year college program. Those courses cost taxpayers nearly $25 million in 1992-93, the last year for which figures are available.
Two years ago, the State Council for Higher Education asked four-year colleges and universities, where costs are vastly higher, to stop offering remedial work.
"The fact of the matter is, students who aren't ready for college sometimes slip into the four-year colleges," said David Hanson, director of instructional support services for Virginia Western Community College.
Community colleges supply catch-up courses for $3,500 per student per year. Among the remaining colleges and universities offering remedial work are Virginia Commonwealth University, at an annual per-student cost of $7,187, or $5,316 at Clinch Valley.
Virginia Tech and Radford University don't offer remedial courses, although both supply tutoring and referrals to area community colleges, if necessary.
Tech, for instance, requires tutoring for all freshman athletes, as well as those with grade-point averages below 2.2.
And Radford, in its efforts to tighten admission standards, may begin to refer remedial students to New River Community College, said the acting vice president for academics, Kathy Green.
After considering the newly issued study, one educator said the numbers may look dismal. But once examined, they are not that bad, McElfresh said.
In Montgomery County, 28 percent of the students needed remedial courses. In Roanoke County, the figure was 18 percent. Roanoke city's number was almost 34 percent.
Roanoke Superintendent Wayne Harris said he could not comment on the report because he had not read it. However, his county counterpart, Deanna Gordon, said 69 of her county's 74 students needing remedial work went to VWCC.
"I don't know who fails who, but I do think it's important for community colleges to provide [remediation]. I don't think they should provide it over and over and over, but for lots of reasons, students get a much clearer sense as they grow older they want something different than what they had [in high school]," said Joy Graham, associate chancellor of the Virginia Community College System.
In addition to showing that remediation is being concentrated in community colleges, the study revealed something else to educators. It uncovered a crop of freshmen who did not take the high school courses they needed to prepare them for their chosen collegiate path - whether traditional or technical.
"I guess the problem is, counselors and teachers and everyone need all the help they can get from parents," said VWCC's Hanson.
High school students may take the easy road through high school, naive to the job realities they face. Then, they return to take college prep courses en route to a degree.
"If a student doesn't take two years of algebra in high school, he can't get into Tech or Radford. So by default, they have to get into a New River or Virginia Western in order to earn their [four-year college] admissions," said Hanson.
Said Gordon: "I think it's too simplistic to say, 'Well, the high school failed them.' It's partly a family thing, a school thing."
New River Community College found nearly 65 percent of its freshmen needed extra help last year.
"It's probably not quite as bad as it sounds," New River Community College President Ed Barnes said.
"A lot of our students who come to us who need remediation need [it] because they have not had the right courses in high school to enter a particular technical program," he said.
Bedford County Superintendent John Kent agreed.
"I thought that was the purpose of the community college system - to serve as a bridge between high school and colleges and universities," he said.
The study, from the state council, comes only days after Gov. George Allen's education strike force issued a preliminary report that suggested high schools should pay for college remediation.
According to state council spokesman Mike McDowell, no other states track remediation rates.
"We don't know how well we're doing," he said.
By reporting statistics, school by school, the agency hopes to find out where program improvements can be made.
One Montgomery County School Board member has an idea of how to do that.
"Rather than look at a report like this that I'm not sure how I should interpret, I think we as a system should track our own students," Bob Goncz said.
Staff writer Joel Turner contributed information to this story.
by CNB