NEA Policy Statements

2. Access, Remediation, and Retention in Higher Education

All Americans have a basic right to access to quality public education from preschool through graduate school. The heritage of free public educational opportunities for every American must be preserved and strengthened. All qualified students must have access to postsecondary programs without regard to age, gender, sexual orientation, disability, race, military registration status, or ability to pay.

Public expenditures for education must be considered an investment in the future of this nation. To deny access to higher education to any segment of our population is counter-productive to democracy. Given the fact that our nation is witnessing the growth of an underclass, trapped in poverty and ignorance, special efforts must be made to turn this around. These efforts should include outreach efforts to low income and minority populations to provide them with access to full participation in American society. Reversing this growth will require a concerted effort to identify and motivate the at-risk students and provide them with access and support programs.

To guarantee access to the maximum number of students to collegiate instruction and increase the chances that they fulfill their academic potential at the collegiate level, NEA recommends the following:

• Partnerships and coordination between K-12 and higher education faculties should be encouraged to facilitate the successful transition of students from the secondary to the collegiate level. Examples of such partnerships should include the development of special programs for at-risk students, coordination of curricula, early identification and assessment of students with remedial needs.
• Educational goals and remediation programs at all higher education institutions should be developed, implemented, refined, expanded, and evaluated by appropriate teaching personnel. Remediation should occur in institutions where the need exists.
• Adequate and appropriate programs should be provided to insure that all students have an opportunity to acquire the skills necessary to gain admission and succeed in all postsecondary education programs.
• Remedial programs should enjoy full-funding at the postsecondary level but not be accorded degree-credit status.
• Remedial programs in higher education should be staffed by regular, full-time faculty, with the appropriate expertise in remedial and developmental education, who participate fully in institutional governance and enjoy basic benefits accorded to all other faculty members.
• To increase retention rates, remedial programs in higher education should include adequate academic counseling and other support programs that increase a sense of belonging at the institution for the at-risk student.

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