Happy New Links!

• The latest issue of Data Notes, Achieving the Dream’s bimonthly data newsletter, identifies early predictors of student success: “The findings indicate that, in general, students who complete 20 or more credits during the first academic year have better long-term outcomes.” Many students who do not complete 20 or more credits during their first year are enrolled in non-credit-bearing developmental education courses. As we learned from a previous issue of Data Notes, “Students who are placed into developmental education coursework are more likely to struggle academically and are at a greater risk of stopping out or dropping out of college.”
• A Hechinger Report article from last week describes Ohio’s decision to phase-out funding for remedial courses at four-year schools: “Some experts worry that this shift will discriminate against students from low-performing high schools in poor areas, pushing more students away from universities and into already-overburdened community colleges.” Is Ohio’s decision a smart way to allocate resources, or will it damage the state's pathway to educational opportunity? What do you think, readers?
• According to a recent post on Community College Spotlight, the California Community College’s Student Success Task Force is recommending that colleges encourage students to enroll in a non-credit student success course. As demonstrated by Chaffey’s program for probationary students (which we’ve featured previously), student success courses can improve student outcomes when paired with other student supports.