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A nationwide study was conducted to examine how U.S. colleges and universities organize, staff, and operate their various programs to meet the needs of the low-achieving student and to document the extensive literacy problem facing all institutions of higher education. Every two- and four-year college in the country was surveyed, and 58% (N=1,452) responded. Selected findings included the following: (1) only 160 institutions reported that they had no basic skills programs, courses, or alternatives for meeting literacy needs; (2) public institutions and larger colleges were more likely to respond to low-achieving students; (3) basic skills courses were the most typical response to low-achieving students; (4) academic officers were generally responsible for policies regarding the evaluation of student assessment and success; (5) student follow-up policies existed only to a limited extent in all reporting institutions; (6) peer counseling was not well accepted among the respondents; (7) more than 50% of the institutions offered orientation programs for low-achieving students; (8) the most common retention strategies included orientation programs, special services for low-achieving students, and institutional self-study; and (9) respondents reported plans to improve programs, though they projected staff reductions in some areas. (LAL)

The American Association of Community Colleges commissioned this study of remedial education in community colleges as a framework for describing context, generating discussion, and encouraging improvement. The study reviews current research about open-door policies, underprepared students, faculty, and remedial programs. It also argues that changing demographics, burgeoning technologies, and a faltering public education system have led to increased illiteracy, unemployment, welfare dependency, racial tensions, crime, and other social ills. The report describes the major issues surrounding remediation in community colleges and provides the following recommendations to colleges for improving current practices: (1) examine the characteristics of other institutions' successful remedial programs in the interest of adopting them; (2) employ a more collaborative effort to learn from other colleges; (3) ask the questions about your own college's performance that are being asked about others, and take appropriate action; (4) provide a holistic approach to programs for at-risk students, addressing their broad range of needs; (5) abolish voluntary placement in remedial courses; (6) create a more seamless web of collaboration with other educational institutions; and (7) strengthen this web by partnering with private businesses. Contains 61 references. (AS)

The trend toward increasing numbers of poorly prepared, high-risk college students requires a variety of strategies, including strengthened school-college collaboration and networking, taking a holistic approach to retention, attention to the effectiveness of traditional teaching methods, and hiring faculty committed to great teaching. (MSE)