Remedials will remain

Placement test removal at CSUs won't change Pierce transfer policies

MICKIE SHAW Reporter @mickieshaw77

California State Universities will no longer require remedial classes in English and math for first-time freshmen. However, this new policy will not change Pierce’s transfer requirements.

The English placement test and the entry level math tests will not be used as a single measure of course placement for CSU freshmen. The new placements will be based on several factors including high school GPA, advanced placement scores, ACT and SAT scores.

The policy is an executive order by CSU Chancellor Timothy White and will be implemented in fall 2018. Students scoring below college math and English in the assessments, will be required to enroll in the Early Start Program during the summer, which offers remedial courses.

The state has put pressure on CSU to graduate students sooner. Remedial courses add more time to a student's time at a university.

According to Transfer Center Director Sunday Salter, this change shouldn't have too much of an effect on prospective transfer students.

“We still are requiring our students to remediate to handle college-level coursework,” Salter said. “Ninety percent of our students assess below college levels. They need to prepare before they can handle the college rigor.”

To transfer, Pierce students have to pass a college-level math course.

“Our goal is to prepare them for success after transfer. If that means they have to take some remediation classes to get there, that is what we are going to require,” Salter said.

Hans Johnson, the director of the Higher Education Center at the Public Policy Institute of California, said that high school performance indicates how well a student will perform in college.

“Using other measures will actually significantly reduce the number of students who are placed in remediation,” Johnson said.

California Community Colleges

Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley, who hosts a weekly podcast, said during an interview, “Most students in remediation should not have been there.” mshaw.roundupnews@gmail.com

Freshmen will enroll in math and English classes appropriate to their major and skill level according to the college’s individual assessment. If they do not pass their classes, they will have to take the courses again.

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Moses said this summer was a unique challenge because faculty began using the SIS, and data suggested students had problems effectively enrolling in classes, which created under-enrolled classes that would have eventually been filled.

“There was more class cancellation then there was previously,” Moses said. “Many departments asked administration to hold out on canceling classes, and sometimes, those requests were responded to, but many were cancelled prematurely.”

Some department chairs are in favor of a proposal to allow classes with more than 10 students, but not yet 15, remain open during registration hoping that they’ll be filled, Moses said.

Vice Chair of the Math Department

Edouard Tchertchian said that the different departments came to vote on a solution for premature class cancellation to prevent a similar situation from recurring.

"The APC and the group of department chairs on campus voted to have a situation where, if ten students were enrolled in a class, then the class would not be cancelled until the end of week one,” Tchertchian said.

Distance Education Coordinator

Wendy Bass announced that the Title V grant, that started in 2012, ended. It served to fund faculty trainings to assist students with their online courses and to teach the use of software programs.

“We have no funding right now for the Title V grant for distance education,” Bass said. “We’re still here, everything is still moving well, but we do have to get the funding to support much of the software features that we use in teaching online.”