14-R373

2014 -- S 3135

Enacted 06/20/14

S E N A T E   R E S O L U T I O N

REQUESTING THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE OF RHODE ISLAND TO REPORT TO THE

SENATE ON REMEDIATION REFORM

Introduced By: Senators Satchell, Picard, Metts, Bates, and Gallo

Date Introduced: June 20, 2014

     WHEREAS, Remedial courses may be a deterrent or an impediment to the completion of

higher education degrees and certificates; and

     WHEREAS, One of the best practices in remediation consists of students' enrollment in

college-level courses while simultaneously receiving remedial support aligned to the college-level

course(s); and

     WHEREAS, Completion of a set of credit-bearing courses for a program of study is a

critical measure of success toward post-secondary higher education completion; and

     WHEREAS, The content in required courses should align with the program of study,

including, but not limited to, mathematics; and

     WHEREAS, Enrollment in entry college-level courses should be the default placement

for many more students than is current practice; and

     WHEREAS, Students who are significantly underprepared for college-level academics

require accelerated routes into programs of study through the use of programs, such as summer

intensive programs designed to remediate many areas of general education courses; and

     WHEREAS, Additional academic support should be integrated with a general education

college-level course as a co-requisite and not a prerequisite; and

     WHEREAS, A remedial writing pilot program modeled after Baltimore Community

College's Accelerated Learning Program is scheduled to begin in the fall semester of 2014; now,

therefore be it

RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

hereby respectfully requests that the Community College of Rhode Island provides a report on or

before March 1, 2015, and annually thereafter, to the President of the Senate, with the results of

the pilot program for writing remediation that is scheduled to begin in the fall semester of 2014.

The report should include a description of the pilot, the total number of students enrolled in the

pilot, the number of those students who successfully completed the credit-bearing general

education writing requirement, number of students retained and for the number of semesters

enrolled and any degrees or certificates earned. Additionally, the report shall discuss the schedule

for college-wide expansion of the writing remediation program, if successful results are achieved,

and the schedule and description regarding the expansion of the program into reading

remediation; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That this Senate hereby respectfully requests the Community College of

Rhode Island to report on or before April 1, 2015, to the President of the Senate, a proposal on a

redesign of the mathematics remediation program. This report should include a description of the

new delivery method(s) for mathematics remediation designed to further the student in

completion of credit-bearing courses and certificate and degree earning programs, the plan for

implementation and the cost for implementation; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to the President of the Community College of

Rhode Island.

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LC006015

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