Community colleges with open-door admission policies attract diverse student populations with varied levels of academic preparedness. Maxwell (1994) recognized that the current college population is more diverse than ever before, with differences apparent in several areas, including ability, academic preparation, age, maturity, social background, ethnicity, language, and psychological preparation for college. Nielsen (1991) acknowledged that diversity is more apparent in the community college than it was 10 years ago and that it cannot be ignored.The diverse student population challenges community colleges to maintain high academic standards while providing access for students with a wide range of academic skills. Cohen and Brawer (1989) reported that the composition of the community college student body reflects increasing numbers of underprepared students. They were emphatic that community colleges should serve underprepared students but should not lower standards. Furthermore, they acknowledged the challenge these students present when they stressed, "How to guide and teach students who are underprepared for traditional college level studies is the thorniest single problem for community colleges" (Cohen & Brawer, 1989, p. 236). Maxwell (1994 recognized that underprepared students do not usually volunteer for skills courses to remediate skills deficiencies. Therefore, many colleges have resorted to mandatory assessment and placement. The challenge to provide both access and excellence demands effective and efficient academic performance predictors that will help to identify students who are at risk of failing.
Collaboration between the data processing center and the developmental studies program at one community college resulted in efficient monitoring of the progress of underprepared students.
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