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Remedial Education at Higher Education Institutions in Fall 1995
NCES 97584
October 1996

Policies or Laws Affecting Remedial Education

This section provides information about policies or laws affecting remedial education offerings. Institutions that offered remedial education courses were asked whether there were any state policies or laws that affected their remedial education offerings and how these policies or laws affected the offerings. Institutions were also asked whether there was a limit on the length of time a student may take remedial courses at their institution and how the time limit on remediation was set.

State Policies or Laws and Remedial Offerings

A third of institutions offering remedial courses reported that there were state policies or laws that affected the remedial education offerings of their institution, with many more public than private institutions reporting that they were affected (Table 13). Thus, while 57 percent of public 2-year and 40 percent of public 4-year institutions that offered remedial courses reported that state policies or laws affected their remedial offerings, only 3 percent of private 2-year and 7 percent of private 4-year institutions that offered remedial courses reported that their remedial offerings were affected by state policies or laws.

The major way in which state policies or laws affected the remedial offerings of institutions that offered remedial courses was to require or encourage institutions to offer remedial education. Thus, 59 percent of institutions with state policies or laws affecting their remedial offerings reported that they were required to offer remedial education, and 19 percent reported that they were encouraged to do so (Table 13). Public 2-year and public 4-year institutions were affected somewhat differently by state policies or laws. About twice as many public 2-year as public 4-year institutions were required to offer remedial courses, while more public 4-year than public 2-year institutions were discouraged from offering remedial education or their remedial offerings were restricted.

Limitations on Length of Time in Remedial Courses

About a quarter of institutions reported that there was a limit on the length of time a student may take remedial courses at their institution (Table 14). Time limits on remediation were present about equally often at all types of institutions. Time limits on remediation were set by institutional policy at 75 percent of the institutions with time limits, and by state policy or law at 21 percent of the institutions. Time limits were set by institutional policy at almost all public and private 4-year institutions with such limits, while at public 2-year institutions, state policy or law was also an important factor in setting time limits, with 53 percent of public 2-year institutions indicating that time limits were set by state policy or law.

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