Developmental Education and Student Debt: Remediation&apos;s Uncertain Impact on Financial and Academic Outcomes. Research Report
Author: Fernandez, Chris
Date: 2014-10-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Developmental Programs,Debt (Financial),Remedial Programs,Outcomes of Education,National Surveys,Student Financial Aid,Grants,Student Characteristics,Females,Minority Group Students,Racial Differences,Time to Degree,Dropout Rate,Stopouts,Loan Repayment,Loan Default,College Students

Developmental education is integral to higher education in the United States. In academic year (AY) 2011-12, about one-third of all first-year undergraduates and 40 percent of first-year community college students were enrolled in at least one developmental course (NPSAS:12). Generally, students who fail to achieve adequate scores on placement exams must first take more basic coursework (often in math, reading, or writing) before moving on to regular, credit-bearing coursework. Developmental education is far more prevalent in the two-year public college sector, especially at community colleges. In AY 2011-12, community colleges enrolled about half of all first-year students and 65 percent of all first-year students who took developmental education coursework (NPSAS:12). Many four-year institutions (sometimes acting on their own initiative but often responding to changes in higher education policy at the state level) have either stopped admitting students who fail to demonstrate college-level proficiency or are channeling such students into developmental coursework at local community colleges (Jacobs, 2012). Also, given rising tuition prices at four-year institutions, more underprepared students may be turning voluntarily to less expensive community colleges for developmental education. Along with many higher education organizations, the White House has made it a major initiative to promote college attainment and raise completion rates. One way to do this may be by encouraging more underprepared students to enroll in postsecondary education through a developmental path and/or by ensuring that more students who take developmental education coursework graduate with a degree. However, such an approach entails certain risks that must be assessed. What if students who take developmental courses end up incurring more student debt? Worse yet, what if these students tend to borrow more but leave school before earning a credential? Depending on the answers to questions like these, the developmental system and the push for more degree attainment could do more harm than good. To explore these questions, this paper analyzed national survey data gathered by the Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics. Findings of this analysis, largely belie the assumption that developmental education creates a significant academic and financial drag on students. These findings include: (1) The population of students enrolled in developmental coursework at community colleges do not differ from students who are not required to take the courses; (2) Students in developmental courses do not borrow more than their peers; and (3) Many community college students who take a single developmental course achieve better academic outcomes relative to those who take none. The remainder of this paper will explain and expand on these and other findings of research into NCES data, providing a short discussion at the end of implications for policy and future research.