Thanks to Kentucky’s new policy on higher education, students in the state’s public colleges are expected to take more remedial education courses. Tougher education policies now make it harder to enroll in credit-bearing college courses in Kentucky schools. This means that students cannot take courses for credit without first demonstrating certain math and reading skills. According to According to an article in the Louisville, Kentucky Courier-Journal:
Kentucky’s higher education institutions are bracing for a spike in students needing remedial reading and math next year — a result of a tougher admissions regulation intended to ensure students have the skills needed to do college work.
All public colleges and universities will be affected, but the state’s community colleges might feel the biggest impact, with officials there estimating between 17,400 and 20,000 new students will need to take remedial courses before being allowed to enroll in courses carrying credit toward a degree.
This means that more Kentucky students now have to pay for courses that will not lead to a degree.
While the ultimate goal of the policy change may be to ensure that more students are academically prepared for college, the immediate effect may be the reverse. While remedial course are designed to train students for regular courses, there is little evidence to indicate that remedial courses are actually effective. Many studies indicate that students who are forced to take remedial courses in college merely become frustrated by the process and tend to drop out.
