College Guide

October 20, 2009 05:10 PM

UNLV Attempts to Answer a Vital Question

by Jesse Singal

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Speaking of incoming freshman who aren’t ready for a rigorous college curriculum, the Las Vegas Sun reports on UNLV’s attempts to figure out why this is such a commonplace occurrence:

In 2008, more than a third of the Nevada high school graduates who enrolled at the state’s universities and colleges required remedial classes in English and mathematics, at a cost of over $2 million.

Neal Smatresk, the UNLV president, says the problem needs to be addressed clinically, the way doctors examine patients.

“As soon as those students get here we need to diagnose, prescribe and treat,” Smatresk said. “If we come up with the right prescription to fill those critical skills gaps, then I think we can give our students an edge.”

A college campuses become more diverse, and their student bodies drawn from a wider variety of high schools (of hugely differing quality), figuring out the unprepared-freshman conundrum will only going to get more important.

Jesse Singal is web editor of the Washington Monthly. He previously worked as an associate editor at Campus Progress, and his writing and reporting have appeared in The Boston Globe, The American Prospect Online, and Politico.