The shift is a major change in the state where 39 percent of Ohio public university students need one or more remedial course. Miami’s branch campuses are the only places students can take the courses in Butler County.
“We had people come to us with concerns,” said Michael Pratt, dean of Miami University’s regional campuses, including those in Hamilton and Middletown. “Our answer is you still will be able to (take remedial courses) on the regional campuses.”
The move is being done to help students save money as the cost of higher education continues to rise faster than inflation and student loan debt reaches $1 trillion.
“Regional campuses and community colleges might see an uptick in the number of students that come to us first,” said Pratt, adding that for the Miami campuses, there probably will be minimal changes in enrollment since “Miami University Oxford has a more selective admissions process.”
Miami’s Oxford campus has never offered remedial courses.
Providing remedial education, especially in math and writing, is essential for the branch campuses because of the demographics of the students who go there, Pratt said.
“Many of them are first-generation college students,” he said. “When no one in your family has not taken a degree, there may not have been a focus on an education in the future, so sometimes there’s not a lot of support.
“Part of our mission is to provide access for those who want to enter a four-year program. We’re not the same thing as a community college, but that is something we have in common.”
Almost all new students to the regional campuses take the COMPASS test upon enrollment to determine whether they need remedial instruction, according to Pete Haverkos, director of assisted learning.
“You can be excepted based on your ACT or SAT scores,” he said.
MUH partners with the Hamilton City School District’s Adult Basic Literacy Education (ABLE) program to provide remedial services at no cost to students at any ABLE location, including a classroom on the MUH campus.
“We’re looking to expand that relationship because it is staffed by professionals who understand the demands of a student who enters the university,” Pratt said.
Both campuses offer summer courses for new students that provide an orientation to college life and a refresher on study skills. At Hamilton, the course is called Get Up To Speed (GUTS), and at Middletown, it’s Summer Time Enrichment Program (STEPS).
“There’s a lot of interest in those courses,” Pratt said. “Students really appreciate it, and it helps them a lot.”
Another change the state is pushing for is to have colleges and universities convert to a semester calendar, in part to ease the transfer of credits between schools. All Miami campuses are already on the same semester calendar.
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