Washington State

House of Representatives

Office of Program Research

BILL

ANALYSIS

Higher Education Committee

HB 1336

This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative members in their deliberations. This analysis is not a part of the legislation nor does it constitute a statement of legislative intent.

Background:

Remedial education, also known as developmental or "pre-college" education, is offered for students considered academically underprepared for higher education. Those who enter college without the necessary reading, writing, or math skills to successfully complete college level work must first complete the necessary remedial courses in a particular subject area. Four-year universities sometimes use placement tests to determine the appropriate course for incoming students. However, most universities do not require placement exams if the student met specified scores on the SAT, the ACT or a high school Advanced Placement exam. Remedial courses do not count toward college graduation requirements.

According to a research report produced by the Social and Economic Research Center at Washington State University, nearly 1900 students who enrolled in public baccalaureate institutions in 2005-06 and who had graduated from high school in the preceding three years, took at least one remedial class. This represents almost seven percent of recent high school graduates enrolled in public four-year institutions. The State Board for Community and Technical Colleges reports that over 12,000 recent high school graduates enrolled in at least one remedial course. This represents 52 percent of community college students attending immediately after high school.

In 2006-07, community colleges spent on average $5,563 per FTE for pre-college courses. Thus the expenditure for recent high school graduates (those attending directly after high school or within three of years of graduation) in pre-college courses was $17.5 million (3,154 FTE at $5,563 per FTE). The cost for all pre-college course work was $64.8 million. The funding for these expenditures comes from the state general fund plus the same tuition per course paid by students as they pay for college-level courses.

Summary of Bill:

If the public four-year institutions offer pre-college courses in math, reading, writing, and English, they must do so on a self supporting basis. Self supporting means that the fees charged to students must be sufficient to cover the direct cost of instruction including salaries, benefits, supplies, publications, and records. English courses offered for English language learners are exempted from the provisions of the bill.