Reconsidering Cost in the Debate Over Developmental Education

• In Event: Poster Session 1
  In Poster Session: Economics, Finance, and Policy Posters

Abstract

The improvement of developmental education has become a major question of higher education policy. Developmental education refers to remediation intended to help students acquire the basic skills necessary to succeed in college-level courses. Approximately 60 percent of community college students are referred to developmental coursework; however, few developmental students reach their educational goals. Only one-third complete the sequence of developmental courses to which they are referred. One problem confounding the large-scale improvement of developmental education is that little is known about the true costs of the enterprise. This paper reviews national and state-level data on developmental education costs and suggests improvements in data collection and reporting necessary for informed policy-making, as well as, an agenda for further research.

Author

• Jenna Cullinane, The University of Texas - Austin