THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, December 14, 1995 TAG: 9512140009
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A18 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 50 lines
In a Dec. 5 article headlined ``ODU looks to tighten admission standards,'' ODU officials noted that ``the change wouldn't shut out low-achieving students from college: those denied admission to ODU could take their first two years at a community college then transfer.''
It is commendable that ODU is trying to improve the 42 percent academic probation and suspension rate their freshmen are facing. Tidewater Community College would happily accept any ODU students who don't meet the university's requirement so long as they can pass our reading test and can demonstrate their ability to benefit from a college education by successfully passing a placement test.
While community colleges like TCC have open admission policies, few people realize that the education offered at community colleges can be equal to or better than that received at four-year institutions. This is documented by studies which compared the grade point averages of students who began their studies at Virginia four-year colleges or universities (including U.Va.) with the grade points of students who transferred from the community colleges. These studies showed that community college transfer students did as well or better than students who started as freshmen at the four-year schools.
This is true in part because community colleges like TCC devote their energies entirely to teaching. Faculty members are evaluated primarily on their teaching ability. At TCC, the best professors teach full time, which is not true at the research institutions.
Class sizes here remain small so our students have the opportunity to be personally assisted by their professors.
Furthermore, TCC is working on a system to provide specialized counseling to students identified as being at risk academically.
In short, we do all we can at TCC to see that every student reached his or her educational goals. We take pride in turning many low-achievers into motivated leaners.
Despite our accessibility through open admissions, our academic program is as demanding as any in the region. The difference is that we go the extra mile to provide all of our students with the help they need to exceed.
WILLIAM H. CHANDLER,
Director of Communications
Tidewater Community College
Portsmouth, Dec. 6,1995 by CNB