The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and MDC, Inc. are giving nearly $3.3 million to the state of Texas and four community colleges to expand groundbreaking remedial education programs that promise to boost the college completion rates of low-income and minority students. Houston Community College has announced that it has been chosen as one of the recipients of a $743,000 grant to be used over a three-year period.
Every year, according to the American Association of Community Colleges, roughly 573,000 degree-seeking students in Texas attend a local community college, and nearly 40 percent of those must take remedial classes to build basic academic skills. National studies have shown that nearly two-thirds of students taking remedial classes never graduate. However, successful programs at several colleges demonstrate that these numbers can be improved.
The grants will support innovative remedial programs developed in Texas through Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count, a multi-year national initiative that is aiming to dramatically boost community college graduation rates among low-income and minority students. "The remedial education model pioneered by HCC represents some of the most promising work in the country for boosting college completion rates among struggling students," according to a statement from the college.
Here's the link, for more information.
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