Crossing the Finish Line:
Overcoming Barriers
to Community College
Degree and Credential
Attainment in Kentucky
By Ashley Spalding
About KCEP
The Kentucky Center for Economic Policy is a non-partisan initiative that conducts research, analysis and
education on important policy issues facing the Commonwealth. Launched in 2011, the center is a project of the
Mountain Association for Community Economic Development (MACED) and is a member of the Working Poor
Families Project, a national initiative that advances state policies in the areas of education and skills training for
adults; economic development; and income and work supports. Visit KCEP’s website at www.kypolicy.org.
Crossing the Finish Line:
Overcoming Barriers to Community
College Degree and Credential
Attainment in Kentucky
Introduction
In recent years, Kentucky has set high goals for increasing the share of residents with a postsecondary degree.
The Postsecondary Education Improvement Act of 1997 established the goal of raising the state’s higher
education attainment rate to the national average by 2020. More recently the Kentucky legislature passed Senate
Bill 1 (2009) to address the major challenge of the large number of students entering higher education without
being “college ready.”1
These goals resulted from the recognition that postsecondary degrees or credentials are increasingly important
to the state economy and to Kentucky’s citizens.2 One estimate projects that more than half of jobs in Kentucky
will require some higher education in 2018.3 Studies have also shown that those with at least a postsecondary
credential and a year of college credit earned substantially more
than those with less education.4 And while college enrollment and
graduation rates in Kentucky are on the rise, the rates of degree
completion are still lower than those of most other states.5 Just 31
percent of adults 25-54 in Kentucky have an associate’s degree
or higher, ranking the state fifth from the bottom on this measure.6
Degree attainment rates are particularly low for those who are
Community colleges play an
important role in Kentucky’s
postsecondary education
challenge—and in the state’s
economic future.
poor, African American, Hispanic or older.7
More than a lack of access to postsecondary education, a
primary problem is students’ lack of persistence toward a degree.
22 percent of Kentuckians 25-54 have some postsecondary
education but no degree.8 This alarmingly high share of students
who have begun postsecondary education but not completed a
degree raises a number of important questions: What barriers
prevent students from completing degrees after enrolling in
college? What can be done to overcome these barriers? How are these issues being addressed in Kentucky as
the state seeks to achieve its postsecondary education goals?
1
Community colleges play an important role in Kentucky’s postsecondary education challenge—and in the state’s
economic future. In order for Kentucky to reach its goal for postsecondary degree attainment by 2020, the
state must increase the share of adults with college degrees from the current rate of 32 percent to 43 percent,
which means adding 66,825 degree-holders over the next eight years.9 Many of these degrees will be earned
at community colleges, which tend to be the most affordable option for students and provide the minimum
postsecondary degree or credential needed to obtain employment at decent wages. More than half of Kentucky’s
undergraduates attending public institutions enroll in community colleges.
Community colleges also provide degrees and credentials for high-demand “middle skills” jobs, which require
more than a high school education but less than a four-year degree. More than half of jobs in Kentucky are
middle-skills jobs, and demand for these jobs is expected to continue once the economy fully recovers.10
However, only about 45 percent of the state’s workforce has the appropriate education.11 Community colleges are
uniquely positioned to provide the necessary training and help close this skills gap.12
Community college students, however, often face significant challenges in earning a degree or credential. Less
than a third of those who enroll in community colleges graduate within three years.13 Financial responsibilities,
lack of academic preparation and a need for more student and family supports can prevent students from
graduating in a timely manner—or at all. The way colleges structure and deliver courses may also be a barrier to
student success. For instance, courses often do not connect material to students’ career paths or other areas of
immediate interest, which can hinder student learning.
Community College Students
Although a growing number of students from all backgrounds attend community colleges, most are adults (over
age 21) and a large share are the first in their families to attend college. The majority of community college
students are also economically disadvantaged—students attending community colleges are more likely to receive
need-based federal grants such as the Pell Grant—than students attending four-year public universities.14
Community college students are also more likely than students at other types of institutions to have
characteristics—or “risk factors”—that research has shown may negatively affect college persistence and degree
attainment: delayed enrollment, lacking a high school diploma, part-time enrollment, financial independence (from
parents), having dependents and being single parents.15
The success of Kentucky’s community college students is critical to the state’s economic future. In order to
encourage community college degree and credential attainment, it is important to understand what is preventing
many community college students from reaching these goals and what types of interventions can assist them.
Barriers to Community College Degree
and Credential Completion
Why do just 55 percent of first year community college students in Kentucky return the following year?16
Research has shown that some of the most common barriers to degree and credential completion for community
college students are: problems balancing school with financial and family responsibilities; getting derailed in
developmental education courses; and having difficulty navigating college and staying on track for a degree.
2
Financial Responsibilities
Despite the relative affordability of community college tuition, many students face financial barriers to completing
degrees and credentials. Since many community college students work at least part-time and are raising children,
they typically face significant challenges in balancing these responsibilities with their academic studies.
According to the 2011 national Community College Survey of Student Engagement, Kentucky Community
and Technical College System (KCTCS) students are most likely to withdraw from college because of a lack
of finances.17 As highlighted in a previous Kentucky Center for
Economic Policy report, “The College Affordability Crunch in
Kentucky,” the cost of tuition at Kentucky public postsecondary
institutions—including community colleges—is rising rapidly as
state funding decreases.18 And KCTCS tuition—currently $135 per
credit hour for new in-state students—is higher than the national
average for community colleges.19 A large percentage of students
Less than a third of those who
enroll in community colleges
graduate within three years.
at community colleges are also low-income adults who are
financially independent (rather than relying on parents to pay for
college).20
Most community college students work while attending school,
and a large percentage work full-time. Working often prevents
students from attending school full-time—and full-time attendance
is associated with successful degree completion. Work is also a common reason for students leaving college.
According to the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES), 84 percent of community college students
work—and 60 percent work at least 20 hours a week.21 In a 2004 survey of 1,600 former KCTCS students who
did not earn a degree, the second most common reason given for leaving school was because of the “need to
work and make money” while attending classes.22
Developmental Education Skills Gap
Another barrier to community college degree and credential completion is students’ lack of basic academic skills
when entering college. In Kentucky, students who do not have these skills are required to take developmental
education courses before enrolling in credit bearing coursework. While it is important that academically
underprepared students acquire the basic skills needed to be successful in college courses, many students lose
momentum in meeting these requirements.
In Kentucky, as in many states, when students enroll in public postsecondary institutions they are assessed for
college readiness based on standardized test scores. Those whose scores indicate that they lack basic math,
reading and/or writing skills must take developmental education courses in these subject areas. Students at the
state’s community colleges are particularly likely to end up in these courses.23
Approximately 78 percent of entering KCTCS students are placed in developmental education courses.24 This is
higher than the estimated national community college remediation rate of nearly 60 percent.25 Students test into
developmental education for several reasons, including: not having acquired these basic skills in high school or
while earning a GED, not adequately preparing for the placement test (and not realizing the significance of such
placement testing), and having difficulty remembering these skills after being out of school for a number of years.
3
New higher statewide cutoff scores for college readiness are expected to further contribute to high enrollments in
developmental education in Kentucky.
Only a very small percentage of students who enroll in developmental education courses complete a degree
or credential. And less than 40 percent of all students nationally who are referred to developmental education
courses even end up enrolling in college-level courses.26 Students may have difficulty passing the courses or
leave school due to the significant financial and time commitments
involved in completing developmental education requirements.
Of those who enter developmental education in Kentucky, just over
half pass the courses: 60.2 percent in math, 64.8 percent in writing
and 57.4 percent in reading.27 Low pass rates may be related to
the quality of developmental education courses and the methods
of teaching. A 2007 report by the Kentucky Developmental
Education Task Force found that these courses are often taught by
Approximately 78 percent
of entering KCTCS students
are placed in developmental
education courses. This is
higher than the estimated
national community college
remediation rate of nearly
60 percent.
part-time and adjunct instructors who are provided with very little
professional development.28 Improving the quality of instruction
and using innovative pedagogical methods in developmental
education courses may improve pass rates. A promising national
trend in developmental education reform is for programs to
utilize contextualized instruction—integrating developmental
education into occupational fields or majors in which students are
interested.29
In Texas, a new system for developmental math, Mathways,
has been adopted throughout the community college system
to address some of these issues. The approach links students’
developmental education requirements to their career goals in
order to streamline developmental math. Only students who plan to major in a science- or math-based field
take a traditional, algebra-based developmental course. Other students take classes in statistics or quantitative
reasoning, subsets of math more relevant to their careers. Course content focuses on preparation for and
application to students’ programs of study rather than attempting to re-teach a high school math curriculum.30
Developmental education can also serve as a barrier to degree completion because students end up investing
so much time and money in these courses that their financial resources and motivation often become depleted.
Although students pay tuition for developmental education courses, they do not earn college credit by taking
them—and degree seeking students cannot enroll in credit bearing college-level courses in a subject area in
which they are not college ready until they complete their developmental education requirements.31 Completing
developmental education requirements can potentially take a year or more (depending on the size of the skill
gap), and many students become discouraged as they spend time away from family and work and deplete
financial aid—all without earning college credit.32
In addition, developmental education may be unnecessary for students who have comparatively strong academic
skills.33 Two recent studies have shown that a significant percentage of students placed in developmental
education courses could actually pass college-level courses without first taking remedial courses.34 For these
4
students, placement in developmental education may unnecessarily drain their resources and potentially derail
them from attaining a degree or credential.
Need for Additional Student and Family Supports
In order for community college students to successfully complete a degree or credential, they often need
supports in addition to—and/or different from—those that are available. Students may need intensive academic
advising, supports that help students balance school with work and family responsibilities, and/or emergency
financial aid. Unfortunately many community colleges can provide only limited student supports.
Community college students often need intensive academic advising and education/career counseling. Students
who are the first in their families to attend college are especially likely to lack general knowledge about how to
navigate college and specific information about how to stay on track toward a degree. As a result, these students
may take courses they do not need and spend a longer period of time earning credits that financial aid will not
cover.35 Such difficulties can lead to students dropping out. Unfortunately the student-counselor ratio at most
community colleges is usually about 1,000 to one. Caseloads this high make it incredibly difficult for counselors
to provide the kind of guidance many community college students
need.36 In addition, because low-income, first generation college
students are less likely to utilize existing support services, an
intrusive advising model may be needed. This type of advising
includes structured meetings with advisors, mandatory activities
such as academic planning and tracking of student success.37
While this type of advising is sometimes offered to targeted groups
of students, it is rarely available to all students at a community
Students may need intensive
academic advising, supports
that help students balance
college.
Some other effective student and family supports specifically
focus on helping students balance school, work and family
responsibilities. Approximately 35 percent of community college
school with work and
students in the nation are parents.38 And the demand of family
family responsibilities, and/
responsibilities was the most common reason given for leaving
or emergency financial
aid. Unfortunately many
school in the 2004 survey of 1,600 former KCTCS students who
did not earn a degree.39 One study found that when childcare was
provided on campus at a state university, student parents were
community colleges can
more likely to remain in school, graduate in fewer years and earn
provide only limited student
higher grades.40 Transportation assistance can also contribute to
supports.
positive academic outcomes.41
Many students may be eligible for family supports through state
and federal programs and not realize it, and most colleges are not
well structured to facilitate students’ access to these supports. An approach developed by the Center for Working
Families (CWF) bundles together three “core service elements” that work to support students: employment
and career advancement services, income and work supports (including public benefits screening, assistance
with benefit applications and tax assistance services) and financial services and asset-building supports. For
ten colleges that have utilized the approach, participants have higher retention rates than all students at these
5
schools. They also report that the approach makes it easier to figure out where to find assistance for both
academic and non-academic issues.42
Additionally, emergency financial aid programs can help students persist in college by enabling them to quickly
meet their financial obligations. Two such programs—Dreamkeepers and the Angel Fund, both funded by the
Lumina foundation—found that students typically request money for housing and transportation. Both student
aid recipients and administrators in these programs reported that the funds helped students remain enrolled in
college, and data showed that emergency aid recipients reenrolled at rates comparable to the average at their
campuses.43
Kentucky’s Efforts
Kentucky has taken some important steps toward addressing its low community college degree and credential
completion rates. For instance, the state recently passed legislation setting higher goals for community colleges
to successfully move students through developmental education, and KCTCS now has two programs in place—
Ready to Work and Accelerating Opportunity—that provide comprehensive supports to targeted student
populations. Kentucky is also one of a handful of states working to align adult education with postsecondary
education in order to increase the percentage of adult education students who go on to college. While these are
quite positive steps toward improving community college degree and credential completion, the state’s continued
underinvestment in need-based financial aid may instead work against this goal.
Financial Aid
Students with fewer financial pressures—and who work fewer hours—are more likely to complete degrees and
credentials. Adequate financial aid, including aid that is targeted to the community college population, is therefore
a large part of addressing low community college degree and credential completion rates. Research suggests
that traditional need-based financial aid can promote persistence toward a degree for community college
students.44 However, Kentucky continues to underfund need-based financial aid. Only 49 percent of state aid
in Kentucky is based on financial need, compared to 73 percent of all US state grants, according to a study by
the Brookings Institution.45 What’s more, 35 percent of what Brookings calls need-based aid in Kentucky is the
Kentucky Tuition Grant (KTG) program, which is only available to private college students.
Kentucky’s College Access Program (CAP) is the state’s only need-based aid program that can be used at public
universities, much less at community colleges. CAP provides scholarships in the amount of $1,900 a year to
students who attend college at least half-time.46 Funds are limited and awards are made on a first-come, firstserved basis, which means that a large number of qualified students are denied aid. In 2011, over 76,000 eligible
students—67 percent of eligible applicants—were denied assistance from the CAP program for this reason.47
Those denied are often adult students who may not make educational decisions far in advance.
Kentucky also has the Go Higher Grant Program, a need-based aid program targeted to adults 24 and older who
attend college less than half time. However, the program is limited and only lightly marketed—in 2011 only 141
students received the grant.48
The state prioritizes above all its merit-based financial aid program, the Kentucky Educational Excellence
Scholarship (KEES). In the budget passed for 2013-2014 funding for financial aid is basically frozen, which
6
means that KEES continues to be fully funded and the need-based programs—CAP in particular—continue to
be substantially underfunded.49 State funding has also moved toward tuition assistance through tax credits and
deductions, which tend to benefit higher-income residents who have an income tax liability.50 Meanwhile tuition
rates continue to rise and the purchasing power of the federal Pell Grant continues to decline.
Developmental Education
In contrast to Kentucky’s financial aid trends, the state is making some important efforts related to developmental
education. The state has set high goals for student success in developmental education, and KCTCS is working
to improve the quality and methods of instruction in developmental education courses in several ways. These
reforms will potentially have a positive impact on Kentucky’s community college degree and credential completion
rates. However, a recent policy-driven change in cut-off scores for college readiness will increase the share of
students enrolled in developmental education courses, which may be problematic.
Senate Bill 1, which aims primarily to increase college readiness
for high school graduates in the state, includes high goals for
all postsecondary institutions, including community colleges, to
successfully move students through developmental education.
KCTCS has developed student success goals for 2014 that
are based on Senate Bill 1 criteria: to increase the percent of
Students with fewer financial
pressures—and who work
fewer hours—are more likely
to complete degrees and
credentials.
developmental education students who either successfully
complete a developmental course or meet the college ready
benchmarks on retesting by the end of the second year. By Fall
2015 KCTCS aims to move from a 60.2 percent pass rate in
developmental math to 69.2 percent; from a 64.8 percent pass
rate in developmental English to 77.7 percent; and from a 57.4
percent pass rate in developmental reading to 78.9 percent.51
KCTCS colleges are implementing changes to their developmental
education programs in order to meet these goals.
In terms of efforts to improve the quality and methods of instruction in developmental education, KCTCS is
working with the National Center for Academic Transformation (NCAT) to re-design developmental math.52
The math emporium model involves students spending the majority of class time in computer labs working on
math problems (with guidance from an instructor) rather than listening to traditional lectures. This model also
eliminates the series of courses students must move through (i.e., Prealgebra and Developmental Algebra 1),
which accelerates learning. The curriculum is modularized, and students move through the various required
units at their own pace. And faculty spend more time working with students one-on-one or in small groups than
in traditional classrooms. The model has been implemented in colleges and universities across the country, and
NCAT claims that it increases developmental math pass rates and performance in college-level math courses.53
This model is now in place in some capacity at most KCTCS colleges.
It is also significant that KCTCS has aligned developmental education course learning outcomes with the
curricula of introductory college “gateway” courses (such as Freshman Composition). This ensures that the
developmental education courses are truly preparing students for college coursework, and may increase the
likelihood of students succeeding in college after passing developmental education courses.
7
KCTCS also offers developmental education through Learn On Demand, an on-line developmental education
program that may help developmental education students with relatively higher skills reduce the amount of time
and money spent on requirements. Like the math emporium model, Learn on Demand is modularized so that
students can work at their own pace and also focus in on the
specific areas where they need to strengthen their skills. Students
pay per module, which can save money for students who only
need to improve in a few areas. Students whose test scores are
very close to the cut-off for being placed into developmental
education courses are usually recommended to meet the
developmental education requirements this way. However, the
approach has challenges: it is difficult to make these credits
Despite Kentucky’s efforts, the
state’s postsecondary degree
completion rates remain low,
and significant improvement
needs to be made.
eligible for Pell Grants and some low-skilled adult students might
have difficulty accessing and navigating the program’s technology.
Adult education reform is also an important part of increasing
degree and credential attainment. While historically most adult
literacy providers have viewed the endpoint of their services
as the GED rather than a college degree or credential, there
is an increasing recognition of the importance of helping lowskilled adults enter and succeed in higher education. Kentucky
is working to align adult education with postsecondary education
by setting a statewide goal for the share of adults earning GEDs who transition to postsecondary education and
establishing the Common Core Standards—developed by the National Governors Association and the Council
of Chief State School Officers and adopted by 47 state public K-12 education systems—for adult education in
Kentucky; instituting these standards should help ensure that the adult education curriculum is preparing students
to succeed in college and beyond.54 In Kentucky in 2011-2012 alone, 39,487 students were enrolled in adult
education, and approximately 26 percent of those who earned GEDs went on to enter postsecondary education
within two years.55 Unfortunately the state does not currently collect data on the further academic progress and
graduation rates of these students.
Kentucky is also one of just five states currently participating in Accelerating Opportunity, a grant-funded
initiative that works to successfully move individuals from adult education to a postsecondary credential with
currency in the job market (for instance, welding technology and medical assisting) in a very short period of
time.56 Ideally these students completely bypass developmental education. The model is based on Washington
State’s very successful I-BEST program.57 Students gain adult education competency through contextualized
learning. Courses are co-taught by both technical instructors in the subject matter of their credential program
and adult education instructors. As part of the Accelerating Opportunity grant, the program is operating in eight
KCTCS colleges. However, KCTCS and its partners plan to scale the program to all sixteen colleges by early
2014. Currently most of the participating colleges offer just one or two credential programs through Accelerating
Opportunity.
Despite these important reform efforts, there may be new challenges to achieving KCTCS’s developmental
education goals. With the implementation of Senate Bill 1, KCTCS and the public universities have developed a
new common definition of college readiness. In the case of the state’s community colleges, the new ACT, SAT,
8
COMPASS, and KYOTE test score requirements are higher than before the legislation was passed, and more
students are expected to be placed into developmental education. Given this paper’s previous discussion of
developmental education as a potential barrier to degree completion, this increase in the number of students in
developmental education courses may negatively affect degree and credential completion rates.
Another important challenge is ensuring that developmental education reforms benefit all students. For instance,
it is important that developmental education be designed for low-skilled adults—who make up a significant share
of developmental education students—as well as more traditional college students. As an example, low-skilled
adult students may be less comfortable using technology-based approaches to learning. Increasing the number
of students who benefit from targeted approaches or programs to promote student success is another related
challenge. Scaling up reforms like Accelerating Opportunity so that they benefit more than just a small number of
students presents numerous challenges—including how these efforts will be funded.58
At least one KCTCS college—Owensboro Community and Technical College (OCTC)—has developed an
approach to reducing the number of students in developmental education involving short-term coursework. At
OCTC, students who test into developmental education courses are encouraged to retake the placement test at
a later date, after brushing up on their skills. Students must participate in either adaptive computer-based tutoring
provided to OCTC students and prospective students in all three subject areas or one- to two-week camps to help
students prepare to retake the placement exam; there is no cost for either program. These efforts have helped
many students bypass enrolling in developmental education courses.
Student and Family Supports
Student supports—such as academic advising and career counseling and programs that help students balance
school with financial and family responsibilities—are particularly important to the success of community college
students. Kentucky’s community colleges have instituted intensive supports for small, targeted groups of
students, but an expansion of these types of supports throughout KCTCS institutions is needed.
Since 1999, Kentucky’s Ready to Work program has provided a system of supports for low-income students who
are recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). The program is a collaboration between
KCTCS and the state TANF agency, the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, is funded with federal
TANF funds and operates in all sixteen KCTCS colleges. Ready to Work provides participants with intensive case
management that includes mentoring, tutoring, advising, counseling, advocacy and referrals to community and
campus services (i.e., for transportation and child care subsidies). The program serves students who are likely to
struggle with academic success, and has resulted in strong college retention rates and academic performance.59
In the most recently completed year, over 82 percent of the degrees, certificates and/or diplomas earned by
Ready to Work students were associate degrees, a rate much higher than for the overall population of KCTCS
graduates where certificates are more common. The Fall 2011 to Spring 2012 retention rate was 77 percent,
which was seven percentage points higher than the statewide retention rate for that same period.60
The Accelerating Opportunity program discussed previously also includes comprehensive wrap-around
services for participating students through a case management approach. While in some cases early on in the
program’s implementation this role has been filled by program coordinators, the various KCTCS programs are
in the process of hiring a success coach for each program. The coach will be students’ first point of contact and
will help with admissions, serve as a liaison with instructors, set students up with a tutor and/or provide study
tips, provide supports as needed to ensure the student can stay in school, and make campus and community
9
referrals. Accelerating Opportunity students also have access to a career coach who will work with the student on
job search activities, resume writing and career counseling. Case management is a key part of the I-BEST model,
which has been effective in increasing student educational outcomes (i.e., students continue in their educational
pathway beyond the entry level certificate/s offered in the program, toward a higher credential).61
In terms of supports for the general population of students at Kentucky’s community colleges, KCTCS recently
rolled out an on-line program to supplement existing student services. KCTCS believes that this program will:
target support services more accurately; provide students with self-service options that include admissions,
academic advising, financial aid, registration, tutorial services, retention, and technology; ease the workload
on the colleges and increase student satisfaction and access; measure student service data accurately and
consistently; and help attain higher enrollment, retention and completion rates.62 While these services will
undoubtedly be helpful for students, they cannot replace the counseling, advising, and other in-person student
support services provided by colleges.
Moving Forward
Despite Kentucky’s efforts, the state’s postsecondary degree completion rates remain low, and significant
improvement needs to be made. The state and its community colleges are taking some important steps to
advance community college degree and credential completion—particularly in the area of developmental
education. However, in order to substantially increase community college degree and credential completion rates
the state should strengthen its efforts. Moving forward, the following are some possible directions for Kentucky.
While some of these options could utilize existing resources, others would require additional funding.
Financial Aid
• Fully Fund the Need-Based College Access Program: Financial aid is a critically important factor
in students persisting toward a degree. In Kentucky’s current financial aid system—which prioritizes
merit-based aid and tax credits and funds only one-third of those who qualify for the need-based CAP
program—students who have the greatest financial need are often turned away due to a lack of funds. It is
important that the state fully fund the need-based CAP program so that eligible students—many of whom
are adult community college students—can afford to remain enrolled in college.
• Help More Low-Income Adults Access Financial Aid: Awarding need-based aid on a first-come, firstserved basis, especially in lean budget years, means that many of the most economically disadvantaged
adult students may be denied aid. The state should revisit this policy and consider waiting to disburse
aid until after the financial aid deadline—and then prioritizing funding for those with the fewest economic
resources.
• Expand Financial Aid Programs Targeting Low-Income Adults Attending Part-Time: The Go Higher
Grant Program—which specifically targets low-income adults in Kentucky who attend college less than halftime—should be expanded. Such an expansion needs to include increased marketing and outreach efforts.
Developmental Education
• Expand Developmental Education Redesign: KCTCS’s developmental education reform efforts in
math seem promising. However, not all of the KCTCS colleges are currently participating and the focus
10
has primarily been on math. In order for this work to have a significant impact on the persistence and
graduation rates of community college students in Kentucky, a developmental education curriculum
redesign would need to be implemented system wide—to all campuses and all three subject areas
(reading, writing and math). Special attention should be given to making sure this redesign particularly
benefits adults with very low skills.
• Expand Contextualized Learning Efforts for Developmental Education Courses: Accelerating
Opportunity classes simultaneously teach adult education skills and subject matter relevant to students’
career goals. Expanding this approach beyond the Accelerating Opportunity program could benefit many
students. Such an expansion would involve incorporating instruction for developmental math, reading
and writing skills with subject matter that pertains to students’ interests, goals or experiences. Bringing
the entire Accelerating Opportunity initiative to scale—so that it becomes a primary way of delivering
services—is another option.
• Discourage Developmental Education Placement: It may be beneficial for community colleges to
discourage relatively higher skilled students from enrolling in developmental education courses. Research
indicates that developmental education derails many students from earning a degree—and a significant
share of students placed in developmental education could have passed college-level courses without such
remediation. In Kentucky, the new cut-off scores for developmental education placement, which will likely
increase the number of students placed in developmental education courses in community colleges, should
be reconsidered by policymakers. Lower cut-off scores or a more nuanced approach to developmental
education assessment are possible options.63 More accurate placement might be achieved by considering
several factors—which might include high school GPA and selected background characteristics (i.e., years
since high school graduation, whether or not the student graduated from high school or instead earned a
GED)—rather than just the placement test score.64
• Collect More Data on Adult Education Outcomes: In order to better understand how adult education
students fare once they enter college, data should be collected on academic progress and graduation
rates. Currently data is only collected on college entry for adult education students who enroll within two
years of attaining a GED.
Student Supports
• Increase Student Supports: In order to succeed, community college students need quality supports—
including advising, counseling and financial help with housing and transportation challenges. And the state
and its community colleges should invest in these supports. The Ready to Work program in particular
provides a good model for how a case management approach with intensive advising can be successful
for a targeted population. KCTCS may want to consider ways that elements of this approach might be
expanded beyond TANF recipients. The Center for Working Families approach, which bundles services and
helps students access public benefits for which they qualify, is another good model. At the very least, the
state should look closely at student-to-counselor ratios and consider additional ways to increase access
to counseling and advice. Kentucky should also experiment with emergency financial aid programs, which
enable students facing significant financial challenges (i.e., involving housing and transportation) to stay in
school and persist toward a degree.
11
Conclusion
Increasing degree and credential completion rates is critical to the economic future of the state and its citizens,
and Kentucky’s community colleges are vital institutions for achieving those goals. Yet community college
students face numerous barriers to success: financial and family responsibilities, developmental education
skills gaps, and the need for additional supports. And while community colleges have made significant efforts
in addressing these barriers through developmental education reform and the provision of student supports for
targeted populations, much more needs to be done. Kentucky particularly needs to increase its investment in
state need-based student financial aid as well as student supports and developmental education reform efforts
that can lead to greater community college student success.
12
End Notes
1
Other recent legislation related to postsecondary degree attainment is HB 160 (2010), which mandates that for students who
earn an associate’s degree at one of Kentucky’s community colleges, any university will accept their general education credits as
meeting lower-division general education requirements.
2
When discussing credential completion, this paper means completion of a credential and a year of college coursework rather
than any postsecondary credential. In the KCTCS system, some credentials require as few as three credit hours to complete, and
research has shown that a credential and a year of college coursework are an important benchmark in postsecondary education.
David Prince and Davis Jenkins, “Building Pathways to Success for Low-Skill Adult Students: Lessons for Community College
Policy and Practice from a Longitudinal Student Tracking Study,” Community College Research Center, April 2005,
http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/Publication.asp?UID=204.
3
Anthony P. Carnevale, Nicole Smith, and Jeff Strohl, “Help Wanted: Projections of Jobs and Education Requirements through
2018,” Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, June 2010, http://cew.georgetown.edu/jobs2018/.
4
Prince and Jenkins, “Building Pathways to Success for Low-Skill Adult Students.”
5
For instance, the share of adults ages 25 to 64 with an associate’s degree or higher grew from 25 percent in 2000 to 31
percent in 2009. Patrick J. Kelly, “Realizing Kentucky’s Educational Attainment Goal: A Look in the Rear View Mirror and Down
the Road Ahead,” National Center for Higher Education Management Systems, September 6, 2011, http://cpe.ky.gov/NR/
rdonlyres/81AB2E18-9122-4BAA-86C1-B6804D2CCE9A/0/NCHEMSRealizingKysCollegeAttainmentGoal.pdf.
6
Also, 27.2 percent of Kentuckians ages 18-64 have an associate’s degree or higher, also ranking KY fifth from the bottom.
Working Poor Families Project, Population Reference Bureau, analysis of 2010 American Community Survey.
7
Complete College America, “Kentucky 2011,” Complete State Profile, http://www.completecollege.org/docs/Kentucky.pdf. The
gap in college attainment between Whites and minorities aged 25 to 44 in Kentucky has actually widened since the year 2000.
Patrick J. Kelly, “Realizing Kentucky’s Educational Attainment Goal: A Look in the Rear View Mirror and Down the Road Ahead,”
National Center for Higher Education Management Systems, September 6, 2011, http://cpe.ky.gov/NR/rdonlyres/81AB2E189122-4BAA-86C1-B6804D2CCE9A/0/NCHEMSRealizingKysCollegeAttainmentGoal.pdf. A recent KCTCS accountability
report indicates that while KCTCS is on track for making gains in associate degree attainment, KCTCS is losing ground on
its low income/moderate-high income graduation rate and under-represented minority graduation rate. Kentucky Council on
Postsecondary Education, “Performance Scorecard, Kentucky Community and Technical College System,” June 11, 2012,
http://dataportal.cpe.ky.gov/sadashboard/sascorecards/kctcs_scorecard.pdf.
8
Working Poor Families Project, Population Reference Bureau, analysis of 2010 American Community Survey.
9
Kelly, “Realizing Kentucky’s Educational Attainment Goal.” Kentucky’s goal focuses on postsecondary degree attainment for
25 to 44 year olds. The report estimates that based on past growth rates, Kentucky would have a 37.1 percent college degree
attainment rate in 2020. Kentucky’s goal is modest compared to the Obama Administration’s goal of raising the national college
completion rate from 40 to 60 percent by 2020.
10
Examples of middle-skills jobs in Kentucky are air traffic controller and automotive mechanic. National Skills Coalition, “Growing
Kentucky’s Economy by Investing in the Forgotten Middle,” http://www.nationalskillscoalition.org/resources/fact-sheets/state-factsheets/middle-skill/nsc_middleskillfs_kentucky.pdf.
11
This is the percent of workers who are “middle skilled.” National Skills Coalition, “Growing Kentucky’s Economy by Investing in the
Forgotten Middle.”
12
National Skills Coalition, “Growing Kentucky’s Economy.”
13
Kelly, “Realizing Kentucky’s Educational Attainment Goal.”
14
Christopher M. Mullin, “Why Access Matters: The Community College Student Body,” American Association of Community
Colleges, February 2012, http://www.aacc.nche.edu/Publications/Briefs/Documents/PB_AccessMatters.pdf. National Center
for Education Statistics, IPEDS Data Center, Fiscal Year 2010. At the national level, students of color are increasingly well
represented in community colleges. In Kentucky’s community colleges students of color are represented at a higher rate than in
the state’s general population. Kentucky Community and Technical College System, “Performance Measures,” Office of Research
and Policy Analysis, http://www.kctcs.edu/en/About_KCTCS/KCTCS_Factbook/~/media/System_Office/About/Factbook%20
11/3Performance_Measures_10-11.ashx. American Association of Community Colleges, “2012 Community College Fast Facts,”
http://www.aacc.nche.edu/AboutCC/Documents/FactSheet2012.pdf.
15
Mullin, “Why Access Matters.” 60.7 percent of KCTCS students attend part-time. KCTCS, “2011-2012 Fact Book,” http://www.
kctcs.edu/About_KCTCS/KCTCS_Factbook/2010-2011_Fact_Book.aspx
16
National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, “Measuring Up 2008.”
17
Followed by transfer to a 4-year college or university and working full-time. Kentucky Community and Technical College System,
“Community College Survey of Student Engagement,” 2011 Means Summary Report, 2011.
13
18
Jason Bailey, “The College Affordability Crunch in Kentucky: Meeting the Costs of College in an Era of Eroding State Support,”
Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, November 2, 2011, http://www.kypolicy.us/sites/kcep/files/College%20Affordability_0.pdf.
19
Kentucky Community and Technical College System, “2011-2012 Fact Book,” Higher Education Work Group, http://www.
kctcs.edu/en/About_KCTCS/KCTCS_Factbook/2011-12_Fact_Book.aspx. “Expanding College Access and Affordability in the
Commonwealth,” January 15, 2009, http://apps.cpe.ky.gov/temp_docs/hewg/HEWGJanuaryReportfinal.pdf.
20
The mean amount of unmet financial need for low-income first generation students is nearly $6,000 per year, which is half their
median annual income of $12,100. Jennifer Engle and Vincent Tinto, “Moving Beyond Access: College Success for Low-Income,
First-Generation College Students,” The Pell Institute, 2008, http://faculty.soe.syr.edu/vtinto/Files/Moving%20Beyond%20Access.
pdf.
21
That is 62 percent of eligible applicants for the need-based aid programs. National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).
(2011a). 2007–08 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS: 08) [Data file]. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
Education, Institute for Education Sciences. Available from http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/npsas/.
22
Becky Morehouse, “Selected Findings: Study of Kentucky Adults With Some College,” presentation at Kentucky Adult Learners
Summit, February 4, 2008.
23
Kentucky public universities and colleges use ACT sub-test scores—and other standardized test scores—to determine college
readiness. Students who score below 18 on the ACT in English, 19 in Math (for General Education and Liberal Arts courses; for
Algebra, the cut-off score is 22 and for Calculus 27), and 20 in reading are not considered to be college ready. Other college
readiness assessments used in Kentucky are the SAT, COMPASS test and KYOTE. Kentucky Council for Postsecondary
Education, “College Readiness Indicators,” http://cpe.ky.gov/NR/rdonlyres/78B3510A-CECD-4157-8F20-3E3499707DAA/0/
CollegeReadinessIndicators.pdf. State policies surrounding developmental education assessment, placement and enrollment
vary widely. Peter Ewell, Marianne Boeke, and Stacey Zis, “State Policies on Student Transitions: Results of a Fifty-State
Inventory,” National Center for Higher Education Management Systems, May, 2008, http://www.epi.soe.vt.edu/perspectives/
policy_news/pdf/TransitionsSurvey.pdf.
26 percent of recent Kentucky high school graduates entering KCTCS require remediation in all three academic areas.
Getting Past Go State Profile 2011 cited in Kentucky Community and Technical College System, “Transforming Lives,
Transforming Kentucky,” 2010-2016 Business Plan for Transforming Kentucky, 2011, http://legacy.kctcs.edu/organization/board/
meetings/201109/KCTCS_Business_Plan_2011.pdf.
24
25
Thomas Bailey, “Rethinking Developmental Education in Community College,” Community College Research Center Brief No. 40,
February 2009, http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/Publication.asp?UID=672.
26
Derek V. Price and Brandon Roberts, “Improving Student Success by Strengthening Developmental Education in Community
Colleges: The Role of State Policy,” The Working Poor Families Project, Winter 2008-2009.
27
Kentucky Community and Technical College System, “Transforming Lives, Transforming Kentucky.” These pass rates refer to the
percent of students referred to developmental course who complete a developmental course in that subject or re-test at a college
level by the end of the second year. Kentucky Community and Technical System, “KCTCS Strategic Plan 2010-2016,” http://www.
kctcs.edu/About_KCTCS/System_Administration/~/media/System_Office/About/Strategic20Plan20PamphletREV.ashx.
28
Kentucky Developmental Education Task Force, “Securing Kentucky’s Future: A Plan for Improving College Readiness and
Success,” February 2007, http://cpe.ky.gov/NR/rdonlyres/CBAA5350-E515-42E2-8D8B-B5E61286135C/0/DevEdTaskForce_
FullReport_FINALFORWEB.pdf.
29
For instance, Washington state’s I-BEST program, which simultaneously provides technical instruction and adult education in
team-taught courses. John Wachen, Davis Jenkins, and Michelle Van Noy, “How I-BEST Works: Findings from a Field Study of
Washington State’s Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training Program,” Community College Research Center, September
2010.
30
Before enrolling in developmental math, students take a mandatory student success course their first semester to help students
determine their academic and career goals—and which math pathway is the best fit. For students who decide to change majors
to a math or science field later on, bridge courses are available to help them make that transition. The Charles A. Dana Center,
“The New Mathways Project Webinar,” April 17, 2012, http://www.utdanacenter.org/mathways/webinar/index.php.
31
These are statewide policies. Students who are very close to the cutoff score can take entry-level courses as long as they are
either concurrently enrolled in the highest developmental education course in that subject or receive supplemental instruction.
Kentucky Community and Technical College System, “Kentucky Community and Technical College Student Assessment and
Placement Policy,” KCTCS Administrative Policies and Procedures, http://legacy.kctcs.edu/employee/policies/volumeII/4_13.pdf.
32
Leslie Helmcamp, “Turning Community College Drop-Outs into Graduates,” Center for Public Policy Priorities, April 21, 2010.
33
Bailey, “Rethinking Developmental Education in Community College.” Thomas Bailey, “The Problem With Developmental
Education,” presentation at the National Center for Postsecondary Research, June 2012, http://www.tc.columbia.edu/i/a/
document/NCPRPPT_Session1_Bailey.pdf.
14
34
Judith Scott-Clayton, “Do High-Stakes Placement Exams Predict College Success?” Community College Research Center,
Working Paper No. 41, February 2012, http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/Publication.asp?UID=1026. Clive R. Belfield and Peter M.
Crosta, “Predicting Success in College: The Importance of Placement Tests and High School Transcripts,” Community College
Research Center, Working Paper No. 42, February 2012, http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/Publication.asp?UID=1030.
35
Sara Goldrick-Rab, “Challenges and Opportunities for Improving Community College Students Success,” Review of Educational
Research, 2010.
36
One study of two Ohio community colleges found that reducing counselors’ caseloads had short-term positive impacts on
students. Susan Scrivener and Michael J. Weiss, “More Guidance, Better Results?: Three-Year Effects of an Enhanced Student
Services Program at Two Community Colleges,” August 2009, http://www.mdrc.org/publications/524/full.pdf.
37
E.T. Pascarella, C.T. Pierson, G.C. Wolniak, and P.T. Terenzini, “First-generation College Students: Additional Evidence on
College Experiences and Outcomes,” The Journal of Higher Education, (May/June 2004), pp. 249–284. Melinda Mechur Karp,
Lauren O’Gara, and Kathereine L. Hughes, “Do Support Services at Community Colleges Encourage Success or Reproduce
Disadvantage?,” Community College Research Center, January 2008, http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/Publication.asp?UID=571.
38
L. Horn and S. Nevill, “Profile of Undergraduates in U.S. Postsecondary Education Institutions: 2003-04 with a Special Analysis
of Community College Students,” Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics.
39
Morehouse, “Selected Findings: Study of Kentucky Adults With Some College.”
40
Augusta Souza Kappner, “Across the Education Continuum: Child Care on the College Campus,” National Coalition for Campus
Children’s Centers, 2002.
41
T. Martines, Jr. and R. Casteneda-Calleros, “GO RIO: Achieving Universal Access to Mass Transit.” Community College Journal
of Research and Practice, 33(11), 887-891.
42
Cynthia D. Liston and Robert Donnan, “Center for Working Families at Community Colleges: Clearing the Financial Barriers to
Student Success,” MDC, 2012, http://www.mdcinc.org/sites/default/files/resources/CWF%20Clearing%20the%20Financial%20
Barriers%20to%20Student%20Success%20-%20Complete.pdf.
43
Christian Geckeler, “Helping Community College Students Cope with Financial Emergencies: Lessons from the Dreamkeepers
and Angel Fund Emergency Financial Aid Programs,” MDRC, May 2008, http://www.mdrc.org/publications/479/full.pdf.
44
D. Mundel, “What Do We Know About the Impact of Grants to College Students?” In S. Baum, M. McPherson and P. Steele, eds.
The Effectiveness of Student Aid Policies: What the Research Tells Us, pp. 9-38, 2008.
45
Brookings Institution State Grant Aid Study Group, “Beyond Need and Merit,” May 2012, http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/
research/files/reports/2012/5/08%20grants%20chingos%20whitehurst/0508_state_grant_chingos_whitehurst.pdf.
46
The amount is prorated for those enrolled less than 12 credit hours.
47
Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority, “Student Financial Aid in Kentucky,” Presentation to the Interim Joint Committee
on Appropriations and Revenue, August 25, 2011.
48
The award is limited to one academic year and has a maximum award amount of $1,000. Kentucky Higher Education Assistance
Authority, “2011 Annual Report,” 2011, http://www.kheaa.com/pdf/annual_2011.pdf. In 2010 only 240 received it. The lack of
uptake is likely due to marketing issues.
49
Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, “Budget Makes Education Goals Harder to Achieve with Cuts to Per-Student Funding,”
April 19, 2012, http://www.kypolicy.us/sites/kcep/files/2013-2014%20Budget%20Education_0.pdf.
50
Bailey, “The College Affordability Crunch in Kentucky.”
51
The starting pass rates are from 2010. Kentucky Community and Technical College System, “Transforming Lives, Transforming
Kentucky.”
52
The model was piloted in five KCTCS colleges and now all have been encouraged to experiment with the NCAT model and most
are.
53
Carol A. Twigg, “Increasing Success in Developmental Math: Following the NCAT Playbook,” The National Center for Academic
Transformation, http://www.thencat.org/NCATPlans/Inc%20Success%20in%20Dev%20Math%20Article.htm.
54
Tom Hilliard, “Graduating to College: Three States Helping Adult Education Students Get a College Education,” Working Poor
Families Project, Summer 2012, http://www.workingpoorfamilies.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/policybrief-summer2012.pdf.
55
Kentucky Adult Education, “Enrollment Summary, Number of Students 2008-2012,” http://www.kyae.ky.gov/NR/
rdonlyres/96373AEE-E8CF-4E6D-BFB3-16BA07D97AEE/0/Enrollmentsummary0812.pdf. Kentucky Adult Education, “GED
Graduates Enrolling in Kentucky’s Colleges and Universities within Two Academic Years FY 2007-11,” http://www.kyae.ky.gov/
NR/rdonlyres/FEBCB71E-9B98-4F05-81EB-5D2CB0F29067/0/GEDGradsEnrllCollegesUniv.pdf. It is notable that Kentucky
is one of just a handful of states leading the way in aligning adult education with the postsecondary education system. Hilliard,
“Graduating to College.”
15
56
Most programs are one semester long.
57
M. Zeidenber, S-W Cho, and D. Jenkins, “Washington State’s Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training Program (I-BEST):
New Evidence of Effectiveness,” Community College Research Center, Working Paper No. 20, September 2010, http://ccrc.
tc.columbia.edu/Publication.asp?UID=805.
58
Even expanding the program to all 16 campuses would assist only a share of the student population that needs this approach.
59
Last year the program served over 1,500 students. “Ready to Work End of Semester Report Spring 2012, submitted June 11,
2012.
60
1,518 TANF recipients participated in Ready to Work in Fiscal Year 2012 (to date).
61
Davis Jenkins, Matthew Zeidenberg, and Gregory Kienzl, “Educational Outcomes of I-BEST, Washington State Community
and Technical College System’s Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training Program: Findings from a Multivariate
Analysis,” Community College Research Center Working Paper No. 16, May 2009, http://www.sbctc.ctc.edu/college/abepds/
multivariateanalysis_workingpaper16_may2009.pdf. I-BEST uses the term, “career navigators.”
62
Identifying and providing access to personal and family benefits is not a service covered by this system. Kentucky Community
and Technical College System, “Transforming Lives, Transforming Kentucky.”
63
In the long run, SB1 should reduce the number of students in developmental education courses by ensuring that more students
graduate from high school college ready. However, current adults will not benefit from the improvement in high school education..
An evaluation of the Tennessee Developmental Course Redesign Initiative provides evidence to support lowering the cut-off to
prevent over-placement in developmental education courses. Angela Boatman, “Evaluating Institutional Efforts to Streamline
Postsecondary Remediation: The Causal Effects of the Tennessee Developmental Course Redesign Initiative,” presentation
at National Center for Postsecondary Research Conference on Developmental Education, June 2012, http://www.tc.columbia.
edu/i/a/document/NCPRPPT_Session2_Boatman2.pdf.
64
Judith Scott-Clayton, “Do High-Stakes Placement Exams Predict College Success?” Community College Research Center,
Working Paper No. 41, February 2012, http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/Publication.asp?UID=1026. Clive R. Belfield and Peter M.
Crosta, “Predicting Success in College: The Importance of Placement Tests and High School Transcripts,” Community College
Research Center, Working Paper No. 42, February 2012, http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/Publication.asp?UID=1030.
Kentucky Center for Economic Policy
433 Chestnut Street • Berea, KY 40403 • 859-986-2373 • www.kypolicy.org
16