Remediation: Higher Education’s Bridge to Nowhere

A recently released report by Complete College America finds that remedial education tends to have high costs and little positive effect on student participation and completion in higher education. The report provides national and state-level information on the enrollment and progress of remedial students in two- and four-year colleges. The report offers recommendations for redesigning a system for student success.

Highlights of the characteristics of students in remediation:

• 51.7% of those entering a 2-year college enrolled in remediation and 19.9% of those entering a 4-year college enrolled in remediation.


• At 2-year colleges, 67.7% of African Americans needed remediation, 58.3% of Hispanics needed remediation, 46.8% of White students needed remediation, and 64.7% of low-income students needed remediation.


• At 4-year colleges, 39.1% of African Americans were enrolled in remediation, 20.6% of Hispanics were enrolled in remediation, 13.6% of White students were enrolled in remediation, and 31.9% of low-income students were enrolled in remediation.


• Nearly 4 in 10 remedial students in community colleges never complete their remedial courses.


• Students who did not take remedial courses are more likely to graduate from college. At two-year colleges, only 9.5 percent of students who took remedial courses graduated within 3 years; among students who did not take remediation, 13.9% graduated within 3 years.


• At four-year colleges, only 35.1 percent of students who took remedial courses graduated within 6 years; among students who did not take remediation, 55.7% graduated within 6 years.

Highlights of suggestions for improving the system for student success:

• Prepare students for college by adopting the Common Core standards in reading, writing, and mathematics and by aligning the requirements for college-level entry courses with the requirements for receiving a high school diploma.


• End traditional remediation as it is delivered today (e.g., separate gateway courses for no credit) and replace it with redesigned, full college credit co-requisite models of instruction.


• Require students to enter a degree “pathway” with clear course guidelines to help keep them on track for completion.

Other Reports:

With demand for graduate degrees increasing by approximately 20 percent by 2020, a new reportby the Council of Graduate Schools and the Education Testing Service shows graduate students lack access to clear, useful career information about the full range of career options available to them. The report also provides recommendations to the higher education community on how to better prepare graduate students for career paths.