Weighing In: Faculty Recommendations for Policy and Practice at Post-Remedial Community Colleges

Abstract

ABSTRACTConsidering the importance of faculty’s role in policymaking – especially when related to student success – this study provided a comprehensive analysis of faculty’s perceived obstacles to student success in post-remedial academia, as well as their suggestions for improving outcomes. This study analyzed survey feedback from faculty (N = 849) at 12 different colleges at the City University of New York (CUNY), from both 2-year and 4-year institutions, across a range of disciplines, from both tenured and untenured faculty, and from both part-time and full- time faculty. Respondents, overall, identified worsening academic literacies, a reduction in academic standards, and an overall reduction in student success since developmental education has been phased out. Faculty also suggested an array of policy, curricular, and classroom-level solutions that would help student outcomes in post-remedial academia. These included reinstating exam-based placement protocols, developing students’ academic literacies more rigorously, and re-offering pre-requisite (remedial) coursework. AcknowledgmentsSupport for this project was provided by a PSC-CUNY Award, jointly funded by the Professional Staff Congress and the City University of New York.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Data availability statementThe data that support the findings in this study are available from the corresponding author (IMS) upon reasonable request.Additional informationFundingThis work was supported by the PSC-CUNY Research Foundation.