Remedial Courses Undergo Major Cutbacks

By Julie Blair

Remedial courses are disappearing from the catalogs of public four-year colleges and universities as state lawmakers search for ways to slash spending on what they perceive to be duplicate services.

High school students who graduate without having mastered needed skills should retake basic-skills courses at two-year institutions rather than rely on learning the material after arriving at a four-year college, the lawmakers argue. The two-year schools have more extensive support services and specially trained instructors, they say, and can get students up to speed for less money.

"There is absolutely no reason for Oklahomans to experience double costs for providing the same level of education in high school and at the college level," said Oklahoma Secretary of Education Floyd Coppedge, who, along with Gov. Frank Keating, is advocating a policy to scrap remedial programs at the state's four-year colleges. "We now spend $21 million a year on remediation. We'll cut that by...