Serving Underprepared Students in Institutions of Higher Education

Abstract

This article addresses the role of higher education in responding to the academic and developmental needs of underprepared students. The options of meeting the needs of these students with integrated versus separate services are explored.Institutions of higher education, from community colleges to universities, are faced with the challenge of serving students who have not as yet developed the academic skills necessary to do college work. The reasons for underpreparedness are many and complex. Some students did not plan to attend college and did not choose an academic curriculum in high school. Others may have dropped out of high school and later recognized the value of an education. The "adult learner" may have been absent from an academic setting for an extended time. Others of a more traditional college age group may have experienced poor instruction, a weak curriculum in high school, or low motivation (Hardin, 1988).Whatever the reason, the number and proportion of underprepared students in colleges and universities seems to be increasing. Astin (1984) reported that inadequately prepared students constitute one of the largest, fastest growing subgroups in higher education. For example, 90% of the freshmen at the City University of

Taking A Pulse: Student-Athletes Descriptors For Their First Semester Of College

“…For several decades colleges and universities in the U.S. have used various strategies known as "early warning systems" to assist in identifying students considered "at risk" of dropping out of college Higbee, Dwinell, McAdams, GoldbergBelle, & Tardola, 1991). Mechanisms such as progress reports from faculty to students and academic advisors (University of Minnesota, 2009; Wilmer, 2008) and tracking early indicators of success (Offenstein, Moore, & Shulock, 2010) continue to be perceived as valuable tools in encouraging persistence and retention.…”