May 4--With more college students than ever before taking remedial courses -- review courses to increase basic understanding and bring students up to a standard college level -- community colleges and technical colleges often are faced with extra challenges in getting those students to their educational goals.

Horry-Georgetown Technical College and Brunswick Community College in Bolivia, N.C. -- the local two-year colleges -- hope that new counseling and guidance programs and an intensified focus on extra instruction for these students will help improve retention rates of remedial students. They are also are looking to the local high schools to implement programs that will help students get ready for college.

When students have to take up to two semesters of catch-up courses, the cost, extra time and motivation make it hard for two-year colleges to keep those students enrolled. High schools and middle schools are charged with making students college-ready; but with so many other challenges facing school districts, the task can fall to the back burner.

"The thing is, high schools are responsible for how many students they graduate with a diploma, not how many college students they graduate," said George Swindoll, vice president for Enrollment Development and Registration at Horry-Georgetown Technical College. "On the other side, you have colleges saying, 'Why aren't high schools making these students ready for college?' It's a problem without an owner in a lot of ways."

More than half of the students entering HGTC in the 2006-2007 school year tested into a remedial math or English course.

At Brunswick Community College in Bolivia, N.C., 70 percent of students tested into developmental English and 85 percent tested into developmental math for the same year.

"We are definitely seeing more students enrolling in our developmental courses," said Marilyn Fore, senior vice president of academic affairs at HGTC.

"The other things to consider are that our enrollment is growing and technical colleges are responsible for teaching college remedial courses in South Carolina."

The majority of students enrolled at both institutions come from local school districts. Administrators at both schools had ideas about how local school districts could improve college readiness, but neither wanted to criticize.

"I think a lot of times when students get older, parents are less involved in the decisions they make, even at school. School districts can't force students to take college preparatory classes or to apply to college," said Edith Lang, interim chairwoman of developmental education at BCC. "I think they do the best they can, but students need to be made to understand that the skills they need for community college are just as rigorous as the skills they need elsewhere."

S.C. schools are hoping that a change made two years ago in middle schools will eventually affect the number of students who leave S.C. high schools ready for whatever comes next.

The Education and Economic Development Act requires a career development facilitator at each middle school. That facilitator's job is to help sixth- through eighth-graders think about career paths, about money and potential bills, and -perhaps most importantly -- how they can reach their career goals.

"The earlier we can get students thinking about college, the more likely it will be we can get them there," said Ben Hardee, coordinator of career and technology services at Horry County Schools.

"The students go as far as to pick one of 16 career clusters, and they get more guidance on the subjects they need to focus on to make that career happen. Like if a student chooses engineering, they are guided toward math and physics classes."

Karen Foxworth, career development facilitator at Black Water Middle School, said the program is already affecting how students view and plan their high school and college careers.

"It's important for them to think about what they're good at and what they enjoy; and you know we try to help them understand the difference between a career, a job and work," Foxworth said. "They might change their mind a hundred times before they get to college, but they're thinking."

The S.C. Department of Education has chosen the middle school's career fair as a best practice -- something other schools in the state could use as a model for their own programs.

The annual fair, which was held Friday, has different components based on grade levels. Students heard from local business people about their careers and what classes or training they needed. Eighth-graders also listened to speakers who encouraged them to make good decisions in order to meet the goals they set for themselves.

Samantha Jones, an eighth-grader at Black Water Middle School, has been in the program for the past two years. She's taken aptitude tests, researched careers based on her interests and says she has a pretty good idea of what she wants to accomplish during high school.

"It helps you a lot. You think about careers, about financial costs like houses and phone bills and stuff," she said. "I found out I would really like to be in the performing arts cluster. I know that, you know, I might not be famous, but I don't want to be behind a desk, and there are lots of jobs that I could have."

Community colleges and technical colleges are waiting to see the effect of those changes make their way to their admissions offices.

"I think a lot of how students handle developmental classes has to do with advising. We explain to them that this is something that will make their careers and their classes more manageable in the future," Lang said. "In most, cases we are also able to enroll students in classes that will earn them credit toward their major."

In South Carolina, technical colleges are the sole place for students who need remedial classes to brush up on their basic skills.

"One of the biggest issues we have is convincing students they need the courses after they take the placement tests," Swindoll said. "We stick very closely with our test scores because those foundations are often missing, despite taking a college preparatory class while they were in high school."

HGTC and BCC both offer counseling to support students through the extra challenges of remedial courses. While in the long run cost can be an issue for some students, many students are eligible for financial aid that helps them pay for credits, said BCC professor Robert Rabon.

HGTC also offers financial aid packages and helps students who might be feeling the pinch of paying for extra semesters find on-campus jobs.

"Whether it's guidance or help with finding funding, we do whatever we can to help students with their needs," said Greg Thomspon, vice president of student affairs at HGTC. "Our main concern is getting the students where they want to go and making that process as simple as we can."Contact CLAUDIA LAUER at 626-0301.

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