PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

New study evaluates remedial pathways for community college students

2015-06-01
(Press-News.org) Academic programs that provide alternatives to traditional remedial education help students succeed at community colleges, but different programs result in a range of outcomes for various sub-populations of students. Drew Allen, a New York University doctoral student and director of the Office of Research, Evaluation, and Program Support at the City University of New York (CUNY), devoted his doctoral research to the evaluation of three current programmatic approaches at CUNY community colleges.

Entering community college students are often required to take remedial, non-credit courses to meet college-readiness standards. Nationwide, previous studies have shown that approximately 58 percent of students who entered community colleges took at least one developmental or remedial course. However, remedial courses often increase the cost and time required to obtain a degree.

For many students entering community colleges, remedial or developmental education courses represent the first steps on the pathway toward a degree. Allen notes, "If educators are able to improve students' progress through developmental education or implement new alternatives to traditional remedial coursework, the overall outcomes for community college students could be dramatically improved."

Allen recently presented his findings at the Association for Institutional Research's 2015 Forum in Denver. Allen's research was funded by a dissertation grant from the Association for Institutional Research, which is supported by the National Science Foundation, the National Center for Education Statistics, and the National Postsecondary Education Cooperative.

Allen's study examined remedial pathways available to students at New York City community colleges within the CUNY system, where eight in 10 students who began as first-time freshmen in fall 2013 needed some type of remedial education. The large size and significant diversity of the CUNY student population provided a unique opportunity to compare the outcomes of remedial pathways across multiple underrepresented populations within higher education, including low-income students, students of different ages, non-native English speakers, and students of color.

"Despite the proliferation of developmental education models, colleges and universities across the country have often developed them through a 'one size fits all' approach, giving little thought to the differences within and across groups of students," Allen says.

Using longitudinal data from six CUNY community colleges, Allen tracked students enrolling in different alternative developmental educational pathways, comparing them to students who immediately enrolled in associate degree programs, and conducted in-depth interviews with community college administrators and faculty. The study focused on the following three pathways:

Summer Immersion - Students can enroll in remedial coursework in the summer before starting a CUNY degree program (or winter intersession for students entering in the spring). Results suggested that students who enrolled in summer immersion prior to matriculation experienced significant and positive effects on several outcomes, including a 74 percent increase in the odds of earning 20 credits by the end of the first year. Interestingly, younger students benefited more from summer immersion than those who applied to CUNY at the age of 25 or older, who experienced a more modest benefit. Summer immersion was not as effective for students whose native language was not English.

English Language Immersion - Students identified by CUNY as needing additional support in speaking and writing in English can delay enrollment and instead enroll in the CUNY Language Immersion Program (CLIP). The program was also shown to have positive effects, including increasing the odds of passing the first college-level English course by 31 percent. Enrollment in this program delays matriculation thus invariably resulting in longer time to degree attainment. For students who ultimately enrolled in CUNY degree programs after participating in CLIP, likelihood of college completion was found to be significantly higher than comparable students who had no prior CLIP experience. Similar to summer immersion, outcomes of language immersion were found to be relatively more effective for younger students.

CUNY Start - Students with developmental needs in reading, writing, and/or math can enroll in this intensive 15- to 18-week program designed to build students' academic skills and minimize the amount of developmental coursework they must take when they matriculate. In this study, CUNY Start was associated with positive and significant outcomes in completing remedial requirements, passing college-level English and math gateway courses, and completing a degree. While the program slows credit accumulation in the first year, delaying enrollment in a degree program for a semester ultimately did not appear to hurt medium and longer-term outcomes.

While the three remedial pathways overall led to better academic outcomes, the differences between student populations reveal opportunities to maximize the benefits of these programs.

"For example," Allen notes, "summer immersion was found to be more effective for younger students. Based on this study, educators and policymakers could focus attention and resources on students in need of remediation who enter community college right out of high school." This finding supports prior research on the benefits of maintaining academic momentum for students during the summer between high school and college.

Allen adds that this research contributes to the conversation on simplifying and streamlining progress through community college, which can be unnecessarily difficult for students to navigate. His study also sets the stage for future research, including comparative cost-benefit studies of these remedial pathways and analyses to highlight how these pathways connect to other types of student support strategies like CUNY's ASAP (Accelerated Studies in Associate Programs).

INFORMATION:

About the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development (@nyusteinhardt) Located in the heart of Greenwich Village, NYU's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development prepares students for careers in the arts, education, health, media, and psychology. Since its founding in 1890, the Steinhardt School's mission has been to expand human capacity through public service, global collaboration, research, scholarship, and practice. To learn more about NYU Steinhardt, visit steinhardt.nyu.edu.



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Some endangered sawfishes are having babies, no sex required

Some endangered sawfishes are having babies, no sex required
2015-06-01
Some female members of a critically endangered species of sawfish are reproducing in the wild without sex. The discovery, reported in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on June 1, marks the first time living offspring from "virgin births" have been found in a normally sexually reproducing vertebrate in the wild, the researchers say. Earlier evidence that vertebrates might sometimes reproduce via a process called parthenogenesis had primarily come from isolated examples of captive animals--including birds, reptiles, and sharks. In those instances, the animals in question ...

Despite guidelines, too many medical tests are performed before low-risk procedures

2015-06-01
Despite guideline recommendations to limit medical tests before low-risk surgeries, electrocardiograms (ECGs) and chest x-rays are still performed frequently, found a study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). Evidence indicates that for patients undergoing low-risk surgery, routine testing does not improve outcomes and can actually lead to surgical delays, patient anxiety and other issues. The Choosing Wisely campaign, which started in the United States and spread to Canada and other countries, aims to raise awareness of unnecessary tests and procedures among ...

Canada's radon guidelines are inadequate

2015-06-01
Radon gas is a silent health threat, and Canada needs to align its guidelines for acceptable radon levels with World Health Organization (WHO) limits, argues an editorial in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). "We are left in an odd situation in Canada," writes Dr. Diane Kelsall, Deputy Editor, CMAJ. "Drivers and passengers are required to wear seat belts, which are estimated to save about 1000 lives per year. Smoke alarms are required in most jurisdictions, reducing the annual rate of fire-related deaths from 130 per million households by about two-thirds. Yet, ...

Sex and musculoskeletal health: Differences between males and females

2015-06-01
ROSEMONT, Ill.--Woman in general have a higher incidence of osteoporosis-related hip fractures yet, conversely, they have a lower rate of mortality than men with the same fracture, according to a study in the June 2015 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (JAAOS). In addition, doctors don't always recognize or treat osteoporosis in men as often as they do in women. "Male and Female Differences Matter in Musculoskeletal Disease" details the differences between how common musculoskeletal disorders manifest themselves in males versus females. ...

How does human behavior lead to surgical errors? Mayo Clinic researchers count the ways

2015-06-01
ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Why are major surgical errors called "never events?" Because they shouldn't happen -- but do. Mayo Clinic researchers identified 69 never events among 1.5 million invasive procedures performed over five years and detailed why each occurred. Using a system created to investigate military plane crashes, they coded the human behaviors involved to identify any environmental, organizational, job and individual characteristics that led to the never events. Their discovery: 628 human factors contributed to the errors overall, roughly four to nine per event. ...

Zinc in the body may contribute to kidney stones

2015-06-01
New research on kidney stone formation reveals that zinc levels may contribute to kidney stone formation, a common urinary condition that can cause excruciating pain. The research found that zinc may be the core by which stone formation starts. The study, led by UC San Francisco, opens a new perspective into the cause of urinary stones and related diseases and might ultimately lead to the identification of new preventive and therapeutic approaches. The article appears in the scientific journal PLOS ONE. "The ultimate goal of our research team is to prevent kidney ...

Distant radio galaxies reveal hidden structures right above our heads

2015-06-01
TORONTO, ON [1 June 2015] - By observing galaxies billions of light-years away, a team of astronomers has detected tube-like structures mere hundreds of kilometres above the Earth's surface. "For over 60 years, scientists believed these structures existed but by imaging them for the first time, we've provided visual evidence that they are really there," said Cleo Loi of the ARC Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics (CAASTRO) at the University of Sydney and lead author of a paper published in Geophysical Research Letters last week. The astronomers--including ...

Study suggests breastfeeding may lower risk of childhood leukemia

2015-06-01
Breastfeeding for six months or longer was associated with a lower risk of childhood leukemia compared with children who were never breastfed or who were breastfed for a shorter time, according to an article published online by JAMA Pediatrics. Leukemia is the most common childhood cancer and accounts for about 30 percent of all childhood cancers. Still, little is known about its cause. Breast milk is meant to exclusively supply all the nutritional needs of infants and current recommendations include exclusively breastfeeding for the first six months of life to optimize ...

Is diabetes protective against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis?

2015-06-01
A study of patients in Denmark suggests that type 2 diabetes may be associated with a reduced risk for the fatal neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), according to an article published online by JAMA Neurology. Recent reports have suggested a protective association between vascular risk factors, such as obesity or higher body mass index (BMI), higher cholesterol levels and hyperlipidemia with ALS incidence and survival. Patients with type 2 diabetes have, on average, higher BMI, elevated blood lipid levels and defective energy metabolism. However, ...

Virtually no effect of state policies on organ donation, transplantation

2015-06-01
Policies passed by states to encourage organ donation have had virtually no effect on rates of organ donation and transplantation in the United States, according to an article published online by JAMA Internal Medicine. The shortage of solid organs for transplant is a critical public health challenge in the United States. Since the late 1980s, states have enacted numerous policies to increase the organ supply. Researcher Erika G. Martin, Ph.D., M.P.H., of the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government and Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy, University ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Individuals with multiple sclerosis face substantially greater risk of hospitalisation and death from COVID-19, despite high rates of vaccination

Study shows obesity in childhood associated with a more than doubling of risk of developing multiple sclerosis in early adulthood

Rice Emerging Scholars Program receives $2.5M NSF grant to boost STEM education

Virtual rehabilitation provides benefits for stroke recovery

Generative AI develops potential new drugs for antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Biofuels could help island nations survive a global catastrophe, study suggests

NJIT research team discovering how fluids behave in nanopores with NSF grant

New study shows association of historical housing discrimination and shortfalls in colon cancer treatment

Social media use may help to empower plastic surgery patients

Q&A: How to train AI when you don't have enough data

Wayne State University researchers uncover potential treatment targets for Zika virus-related eye abnormalities

Discovering Van Gogh in the wild: scientists unveil a new gecko species

Small birds spice up the already diverse diet of spotted hyenas in Namibia

Imaging detects transient “hypoxic pockets” in the mouse brain

Dissolved organic matter could be used to track and improve the health of freshwaters

Indoor air quality standards in public buildings would boost health and economy, say international experts

Positive associations between premenstrual disorders and perinatal depression

New imaging method illuminates oxygen's journey in the brain

Researchers discover key gene for toxic alkaloid in barley

New approach to monitoring freshwater quality can identify sources of pollution, and predict their effects

Bidirectional link between premenstrual disorders and perinatal depression

Cell division quality control ‘stopwatch’ uncovered

Vaccine protects cattle from bovine tuberculosis, may eliminate disease

Andrew Siemion to receive the SETI Institute’s 2024 Drake Award

New study shows how the Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus enters our cells

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy proves effective for locally advanced penile squamous cell carcinoma

Study flips treatment paradigm in bilateral Wilms tumor, shows resistance to chemotherapy may point toward favorable outcomes

Doctors received approximately $12.1 billion from drug and device makers between 2013-2022

Discovery suggests new strategy against follicular lymphoma

Making the future too bright: how wishful thinking can point us in the wrong direction

[Press-News.org] New study evaluates remedial pathways for community college students