More than 60 percent of Lone Star College System students are required to take a transitional, or developmental, course upon entry, a statistic slightly above the state average.
"At the end of the day I think what's happening is that we seem to have an increased percentage of students considered to be at-risk, and they struggle because they don't have the habits that make a successful college student," said Cat O'Brien, LSC–CyFair transitional English department chair. "The other thing people need to understand is that we have a number of students who come back to school in their 30s or 40s to take classes to better themselves."
Before a student begins college in Texas, he or she is required to take an entrance exam, and if the results fall below a certain threshold then the appropriate transitional classes are identified. Students cannot enroll in classes traditionally taken at a two- or four-year institution until they have completed the transitional course, which requires the same amount of money per credit hour.
"Students arrive without these basic skills, but they come to college with the goal of getting a career," said Anne Albarelli, dean of the business, education and transitional studies department at LSC–CyFair. "By 2025, 55 percent of the nation's jobs will require associate's degrees, but if students lack these [basic] skills, it prevents them from meeting that goal."
Since community colleges serve a wide range of people, there are various reasons as to why more than half of LSC students need to take a transitional course.
"Students who have been out of school for many years may have forgotten the basic skills they learned," Albarelli said. "Some students just out of high school might not have taken math their senior year, so they went a whole year without seeing it and then they take a test and don't pass."
Professors at LSC–CyFair embrace the backgrounds of all transitional students in a class, regardless of their prior educational background.
"We make it clear that you're in a transitional class because you missed a building block along the way, and we want to plug those gaps," O'Brien said. "Some of the most intelligent students will end up in those classes and go on to flourish."
Students required to take two or more transitional courses also enroll in a freshman experience class to learn more about the process of figuring out a college degree plan, time management and career interests.
"That companion course coupled with the transitional courses sets them up to be successful," O'Brien said.
At LSC–CyFair, the transitional studies professors do not teach traditional courses like at most other colleges around the state and country.
"When we hire faculty, we look for people who are passionate about teaching transitional courses," Albarelli said. "They have the experience and skills to reach these students. It's the faculty who make all the difference."