Students that need remedial education either never enroll, they fail to show up, or they never complete the course. Less than one quarter of community college students finish within eight years. The student success scorecard on Chancellors office website shows graduating rates for all community colleges in California. Approximately only forty percent of unprepared students earn a degree or transfer. The scoreboard showed that approximately seventy percent of students who enter a community college prepared, graduate or transfer. The scoreboard also shows that only approximately thirty percent of students in Math remediation pass and complete the course, while only forty-three percent passed their English courses. Students are then discouraged once they learn these are only wasting their time and money.
Remedial education courses also do not count as college credit. Students drop out since most community college students have a job or a child to worry about. The chancellor's website states that forty percent of the student population is first generation college students, meaning they are the first in their family to attend college. Since first generation college students do not have anyone to guide them through college expectations, they can become frustrated. Students also fail to complete basic skills since they do not know how to use the resources made available to them. Students do not know how to use student services like the writing center or the computer lab. Most students are not even aware of the services the school offers. With students not having the support needed it can lead to failing or incompletion of the course. Overall, the community college system needs to find ways to improve dropout rates in higher education.
On the other hand, with so many students being placed in basic skills, it can lead to classes being overpopulated. California universities give community colleges the role of remediation due to the large amount of students needing basic skills education that universities cannot offer.
