A large number of incoming freshman place into two or more remedial credit equivalent courses based on high school records and placement testing. These students must allocate portions of their financial aid or other college funds to classes that do not apply to their degree. SmartStart offers daily lessons in grammar, writing, reading, and mathematics. In addition, there are workshops on study skills as well as career planning and college orientation topics.
Students receive personal attention throughout the program from a team of experienced instructors.
At the end of the program, students retake the college placement test. Many of the students are able to skip one, two or even three remedial courses and are eligible for a full credit load of courses. To be considered for SmartStart, students must be planning to attend DCC in the fall, and they must take the assessment test. Comments and questions about this page can be directed to the DCC Office of Academic Services .