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Thursday, February 16, 2017

An alternative to remedial college classes gets results

Colleges develop new ways to help students with weak records catch up

When students are unprepared for the rigors of college, schools often require them to take courses to catch up to their classmates. Those remediation courses, though, do not count toward a degree and may delay students from graduating on time, costing them money in the long run.

Boston College is taking a different approach to help students with weak academic records by using a set of learning strategies that require no more than one three-credit class. And new research shows the model is paying off as the vast majority of students are graduating in four years, results that administrators say have national implications for improving college completion.

The Learning to Learn office at Boston College tracked more than 150 low-income, underrepresented and first-generation college students who completed the Applications of Learning Theory course in the last decade, and found 95 percent earned a degree in four years.

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5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Why are students with "weak academic records" enrolled in college at all?

Anonymous said...

Diluting the value of the college degree by making sure everybody passes.

Not everyone is smart enough to go - not everyone can afford to go - but only some that are smart enough to go yet can't afford to go should be helped...the best of the best - quality first!

Anonymous said...

7:37 because 'everybody get's a trophy" in today's society! Pretty sad.

Jim said...

"..students with weak records.."

HAHA!!

You mean public school students? The Common Core Commandos?

Anonymous said...


Large percentage of HS graduates have skills below what is needed. They are admitted anyway since they bring cash flow to colleges while being re-mediated to baseline standards.

In today's world, many students struggle to graduate in five or six years, due to a number of factors, some beyond their control.

The notion that one course turns these students into academic dynamos bears close scrutiny.