PCC Giving Remedial Ed Lots of Attention

By ERIC SWEDLUND, ARIZONA DAILY STAR

Remedial education at Pima Community College is getting some catchup work itself because so many students need it: about 80 percent of new freshmen.

Administrators and instructors are trying various ways – from shorter, intense classes to better math software – to bring rusty students up to speed on basic skills, but it is a challenge, whether students are fresh from high school or starting college from the work force.

“Developmental education is not a new phenomenon at the college. We’re continually trying to readdress how best to prepare students,” said Shirley Jennings, assistant vice chancellor of student services. “It’s a never-ending issue for us, but I think we’re getting better and better.”

At the center of the reorganization is a stronger emphasis on getting students through the process of remedial, or developmental, classes, said David Padgett, assistant vice chancellor for academic services.

“We don’t want development education to be a barrier. We want it to be a smooth transition for the students,” he said. “Maybe a five- week math course will get you where you need to be instead of having to take a whole 16-week course. We try to get you through developmental education as quickly as possible, but ensure you have the appropriate skills when you come out the other end.”

Rogelio Armenta Jr. said he’s feeling his skills getting stronger in his developmental reading and writing classes.

“I was just having trouble with grammar, and I want to learn how to write with more details,” said Armenta, an 18-year-old who just graduated from Tucson High Magnet School. “I feel like I’m going to be ready for other writing.”

Developmental – or remedial – classes are defined as courses below 100-level, essentially high school work for students who are deficient. The big two at Pima are Math 092 or elementary algebra, and Writing 070, developmental writing. Providing the help students need to catch up requires expensive, intensive, often one-on-one attention, but administrators say it’s a key factor in preventing dropouts.

By the end of Pima’s current 2006-2008 college plan, administrators expect to finish the reorganization of developmental education, with new K-12 partnerships and developing data for the first time on cost-per-student on how students progress through college after remedial classes.

In the past few years, Pima has made several changes. The college has hired more math tutors, including professionals and peer tutors, who are all free to students. A pilot program launched last fall with new tutoring software in math is showing some success. More remedial classes are being scheduled in blocks shorter than a semester. One program combines a remedial math course with the next class in line into one semester. Faculty are being hired specifically for their experience or expertise in teaching at the remedial level.

Pima instructors deliver remedial classes on the University of Arizona campus to make it seamless for UA students. Last semester, Pima offered more than 20 classes of remedial math on the UA campus, instructing more than 600 students.

A summer bridge program has high school graduates enroll at Pima and take assessment exams early so they can finish at least one developmental class during the summer leading into their first semester.

“Most of the students know they’re rusty,” Jennings said. “They have their grades from high school, and some are surprised there’s a gap, but we ask them and most say they took math last when they were a junior.”

Most effective is an adviser program that was so successful in the three years it was funded by a federal Perkins grant that college officials gave it permanent funding in December 2005. There is one retention specialist at each campus, assigned to students who need two or more remedial classes.

“Basically we’re intrusive advisers,” said Helen Tschirhart, the retention specialist at Pima’s East Campus. “We don’t just wait for them to come and see us, and we have a cohort of students we follow throughout the first year.”

The counselors are working on a summary of their results, but early indications are that a greater portion of the students with multiple remedial classes are continuing with college.

“A lot of students don’t understand the difference between high school and college in terms of the time commitment,” said Tschirhart, who is working with 85 students this semester. “A lot of them come and expect to be spoon-fed, but just coming to class isn’t enough. It takes work and a lot of students don’t come ready for that.”

Barbara Armenta, an East Campus math faculty member, said the campus’ math center, which opened several years ago with tutoring on an as-needed basis, is a help for students at all levels, but particularly for those struggling the most.

“That has been extremely successful because if a kid goes home and tries to do work and can’t do it, nothing is accomplished. But if they go to the math center, a lot of times they wind up helping each other out,” Armenta said. “It’s real hard to teach yourself math. You don’t curl up with a book and get math. What you need is that personal net out there.”

Armenta said she puts students in study groups together on the first day and while developmental students need more convincing, they’ll usually take to it after the first test.

“Math students walking in at this level are coming in with baggage, either in attitude or just never having been able to get math,” Armenta said. “They’re walking in with that fear factor there, and they have to have a person to talk to.”

Ann Schlumberger, a West Campus writing instructor, said once students catch up on their skills, they’re just as successful in college as those who didn’t need remedial work. Administrators agree.

“If they get through Writing 70, then they tend to keep going. That’s why it’s so incredibly important to give them the skills they need to finish,” she said. “Some of the most heartwarming moments I have are when I get a student in writing 102 I had in 70 and see the progress they’ve made.”

Abraham Ramirez, a 21-year-old freshman from Nogales, said he took a year off after high school before college and is in Writing 70 to work on grammar and structure to improve his writing. He plans to continue with college, studying business and Japanese together.

“I’m trying to get my English up better before I start my Japanese,” he said.

Padgett said remedial classes are simply a fact of life for most students.

“Basic skills have to be practiced and utilized to keep fine- tuned enough to be successful in the college environment,” Padgett said. “It’s not that developmental education students are not smart- they just need practice in skills they haven’t used in a long time. There’s no crime in having to relearn it a little bit if it’s been awhile.”

REMEDIAL CLASSES

Percentages of the 5,580 new Pima Community College freshmen who needed remedial work last fall:

* Reading: 32 percent

* Writing: 48 percent

* Math: 79 percent

* Contact reporter Eric Swedlund at 573-4115 or at eswedlund@azstarnet.com.

(c) 2007 Arizona Daily Star. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.