Remedial Courses for CSU Students

Re “Nearly Half of CSU Students Need Remedial Courses,” Jan. 6:

I have taught classes in the remedial math program at the Dominguez Hills campus since 1986. Before that I taught math at the secondary level. Let me assure you that the students truly need remediation. It is not a matter of narrow deficiencies in specific areas nor of biased placement exams. Day after day, I see students who do not have skills or “feeling for” mathematics on what I always considered eighth- to ninth-grade level. In the last few semesters I am meeting more and more serious students who come to college completely unaware that they are below survival levels in math.

I realize that remedial classes are expensive, but if the high schools refuse to challenge the students, then the colleges need to continue to help them. One reasonable way to lower the cost of such remediation is to allow students only one tuition-free attempt at such classes. Students who quit coming to class and don’t pass should be required to pay tuition for repeated attempts.

MARTHA SCHWARTZ, Lecturer, Earth Sciences and Math, Cal State Dominguez Hills

*

I find The Times’ and trustee Ralph Pesqueira’s concern about the $10 million spent annually in the CSU for remedial education in basic English and mathematics somewhat perplexing in view of their lack of concern about the vastly greater sum spent on athletics. Over $30 million of instructional money is spent systemwide, much of it to partially support extravagant Division I athletic programs.

GEORGE M. LEWIS, Professor of Mathematics, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo

*

As a former Cal State Northridge student who took two remedial English courses, I was outraged to encounter the report that members of the Cal State system’s board of trustees were proposing to eliminate remedial courses. Most of these students take the classes as a minor part of their standard university curriculum. Had there not been the support of these classes at CSUN, it would have been difficult for me to graduate in four years with a 3.6 grade-point average.

The “real” purpose behind this proposal may not necessarily be to save taxpayers’ money but rather to regulate the growing number of minorities and immigrant populations in the CSU system. It is plausible, considering that the cost of remedial classes is not even 1% of the total CSU budget and that the growth of non-native-English-speaking students, including myself, exceeded 50% in the past five years.

WON K. YU, Los Angeles

*

Never mind the “philosophical issues” behind this problem, nor the causes. As a taxpayer let me help “define the proper role and responsibility of a state university” for Cal State Chancellor Barry Munitz and the board of trustees:

The proper role of a university is to teach university-level courses for university-level students. Remedial math and English courses belong somewhere else.

PATRICIA MILHAM, Woodland Hills

*

As a returning adult student who is now in a master’s program (nursing) at Cal State L.A., I’m very grateful for the remedial classes and tutoring in math and writing.

The math was especially a struggle. I’d like to challenge the board members to take the timed placement test, after having been away from it for several years. The fact is that I’ve not had to face another algebra problem since, and would probably still have a hard time with the test.

Perhaps the real value is in the process. There is the realization that failure is possible, that hard work, resourcefulness, determination and memorization (at least short-term) will be required in this effort of higher education. Would I have gone to a community college to get through the test? Probably . . . I’ve come this far!

DONNA BRAY, Norwalk