Vice President of Instructional Services Dr. Jane Hulon said College President Dr. Ronnie Nettles has commissioned administrators to investigate and identify ways to keep students encouraged and interested in their studies. Hulon said from that charge grew the idea for a Developmental Education Division, which would focus on remedial classes for students whose test scores fall in a certain range.

"When we have students that come to us that are not prepared for college level work, they're required to take courses that in the past we've called developmental," Hulon said, explaining that would include intermediate or remedial courses.

"When these students enroll in these classes sometimes their motivation is low and they may not stay with the program to make it into those college level classes," she continued. "This is one opportunity for us to create a special dedicated division to this population of students."

Students in the Developmental Education Division will be referred to as "transitional students," Hulon said. The program is being put together based on research and information gathered from other schools and implementing some of the best practices other colleges were employing.

"We've taught these courses forever, but we're putting a new emphasis on trying to do things that are going to allow these students to excel," Hulon said. "We're trying some new things as far as scheduling and delivery of these classes."

One example of scheduling differences, Hulon said, is that the courses will be offered in shorter, more intensive terms so that students taking them can move through them quicker. This puts them into college-level classes faster, Hulon said, which can be an encouragement since being semesters behind classmates can be demoralizing.

Many of the classes are also being taught in computer labs, Hulon said, as many students respond better to technology.

"Rather than hearing someone talk about how to work a math problem, some students respond better to just being able to sit down and figure it out," she said.

Students are enrolled in the classes based on their ACT or COMPASS test scores. English, reading and math class placement is selected from those test scores when a student registers.

The Developmental Education Division will get in full swing in the fall of 2009, Hulon said, and faculty should be in place to advise students and get them in the right classes by time for preregistration.

"We're constantly looking for ways to serve our students, and this was one area where we felt like we needed to do more," Hulon said. "We're trying some new things like scheduling and software, just to make sure our students are set up for success."