From left: Austin Community College Provost Charles Cook and University of Texas staff Janna Cullinane and Evelyn Waiwaiole discuss unprepared college students at the 2016 SXSWedu Conference & Festival on March 7.[/caption]

Panelists at the SXSWedu Conference & Festival discussion titled “Unprepared Students on the Pathway to Success” revealed that 86 percent of college students believe they are academically prepared for college, yet 68 percent of them take at least one remedial, or developmental, class.

“We have to get the students the help they need quickly so they’re not three semesters into developmental education work,” said Evelyn Waiwaiole, director of the Center for Community College Student Engagement at the University of Texas.

Panelist Jenna Cullinane, strategic policy lead at the University of Texas, said community colleges and universities view lack of preparation for college students as a major national problem.

“We have a broken system,” Cullinane said.

Also joining the discussion was Austin Community College Provost Charles Cook, who said it is discouraging for a student when he or she fails a developmental math course, falls into debt, or leaves school without a certificate.

To remedy the situation, Cook said the ACC Highland Campus incorporated an open space lab with hundreds of computers surrounded by assistants and classrooms, offering students the tools needed for success.

Additionally, ACC Highland Campus is in the process of creating collaborative office space for lease for computer science and bio science startup companies at the campus. He added that these companies can lease space if they hire on ACC students as interns.

“Students learn what they do as opposed to the traditional passive learning mode,” Cook said.

Emphasizing computer science education is a priority for local school districts as well, including Austin ISD, which introduced a computer science training program for its teachers in 2015.