News Update

More than half of California community colleges still direct students to remedial classes

Despite a 2017 law that said colleges must enroll students in transfer-level courses and not remedial classes unless they are deemed highly unlikely to success in transfer-level classes, more than half of California’s 116 community college campuses are still placing students in remedial classes, according to The Hechinger Report.

Remedial classes, sometimes called prerequisites, are classes some colleges require for students to begin coursework toward a degree but don’t earn credit for transfer to a four-year university. Opponents say it’s not fair that students have to pay for classes that don’t count toward a degree, when many students can handle the college-level work if given the opportunity and with help from tutors or supplemental classes, according to The Hechinger Report.

Last week, the state Assembly passed AB 1705, which aims to help more community college students skip remedial classes, by directing colleges to presume that students would take the transfer courses. It clarifies when a community college is allowed to enroll students in remedial courses, building off the vague 2017 law that allowed the practice to continue at many schools.

The Faculty Association of California Community Colleges opposes AB 1705. Executive Director Evan Hawkins told The Hechinger Report that thousands of students failed college-level courses after the previous law went into effect.