In 2012,
the Kansas legislature passed the following conditions on the funding of
developmental classes offered at college. The new funding initiative is
scheduled to take effect August 15, 2015. Beginning on that date, no funds
“appropriated from the state general fund for any state university shall
be expended for the purposes of providing developmental courses in the area of
mathematics or language arts.” The revised policy allows exceptions for
students who are over 21, in the military or a non-native speaker. The state
policy defined education thus:

“Developmental
education includes courses in all fields of study that are designed to increase
the likelihood of student success at the entry level of a certificate or degree
program. Developmental education programs include activities that address
subject matter remediation, development of competencies, and change of
attitudes toward learning. The content of developmental education courses
is at a level below that normally included in the first and second year
college-level curricula.”

The funding
portion of this policy has not yet been activated. The Kansas Board of Regents
has called for and is supporting the work of a working group composed of
faculty from 10 community colleges, 3 technical colleges and 3 universities to
study issues surrounding developmental education in the state and to make
recommendations. The groups report is due this June.

The
creation of the working group and the completion of the anticipated report are
both positive outcomes stemming from legislation that threatened to undermine
developmental education and the students who need the support those courses
offer them. Much will depend, of course, of how the recommendations of this
well-informed group are modified as they are passed up the Board of Regents
food chain. If the Board continues to utilize the wealth of first-hand
experience they have in the community college and technical school faculty, the
working group’s efforts could move the state forward toward current and
cohesive improvements that will support our students. Unfortunately, the
funding cuts will begin to take effect just 14 months after the first report is
due.

One other
note: although they specify mathematics and language arts in the policy, the
definition of “developmental education” is written broadly enough
that it might be interpreted to include general college success courses. Should
anyone challenge the funding of those courses, the issue will be whether a
general study skills course is or is not content “below that normally
included in the first and second year college-level curricula.”

http://www.kansasregents.org/policy_chapter_iii_a_developmental_education