The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff has improved its remediation rate for the fourth straight year based on the percentage of freshmen who needed remedial courses, according to an Arkansas Department of Higher Education report.
The Arkansas Department of Higher Education uses three methods to calculate remediation rates, associate director for planning and accountability Rick Jenkins said. The anytime remediation rate reflects college freshmen regardless of the year in which the person graduated from high school, he said. The two-year remediation rate reflects college freshmen who graduated from high school within two previous years, he said. The one-year remediation rate reflects college freshmen who graduated from high school within the previous year, he said.
UAPB had an anytime remediation rate of 71.8 percent in 2014, an improvement from 78.2 percent in 2013, 85.2 percent in 2012, 85.8 percent in 2011 and 91.0 percent in 2010, according to the Arkansas Department of Higher Education.
UAPB Associate Vice Chancellor in the Office of Enrollment and Student Success Linda Okiror welcomed the news. She oversees the Learning Institute and Opportunity for New Students program, in which incoming freshman take remedial courses during the summer. The LIONS program enables these students to take noncredit classes in the summer and to become comfortable living on their own.
“The LIONS program is definitely working,” she said. “I prefer the remediation rate be closer to 50 percent. I think we are moving in the right direction because our ACT scores are rising.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
UAPB accepts students with a grade point average of 2.0 and an ACT score of 15 to 18, Okiror said. Besides taking remedial courses, these students must abide by a student success plan comprised of tutoring, mentoring, seminars and workshops. UAPB has lower admission standards by design in comparison to other public colleges in Arkansas, Okiror said.
Despite its improvements, UAPB ranked last among Arkansas public four-year colleges in 2014 based on the percentage of students needing remedial courses, according to the Arkansas Department of Higher Education.
Okiror said she is not surprised by UAPB having a larger percentage of students needing assistance in comparison to other public universities. UAPB attracts students who need extra academic help because they are often the first generation in their family to attend college. The LIONS program helps these students with social skills.
“They come in unprepared to be successful, because they do not have the wherewithal,” Okiror said. “They are first-generation college students. They do not have parents to navigate the issues of college. Many students do not have support from home.”
Without the LIONS program, Okiror said there would be even more students taking remedial courses.
“They tend to like summer school and re-enroll in summer school,” Okiror said. “We teach study skills. They have a stronger foundation from the get-go. We help with the social and academic environment.
“We had 168 LIONS students in the summer of 2014,” Okiror said. “We retained 97 percent or 166 of 168 for the spring of 2015. We anticipate enrolling 300 students in the summer of 2015.”
The deadline for graduating high school seniors to apply to LIONS is May 1, she said. To date 282 people have applied, and Okiror said she needs 400 applications because not all students enroll.
UAPB students are also taking advantage of the Living Learning Center at the Harrold-Complex residence halls, Okiror said. Freshmen students live in the Harrold-Complex and receive tutoring, mentoring and advising, she said.
There is also a Student Success Center on campus for students seeking advice, whether related to academics or personal issues, she said.
Arkansas public four-year colleges averaged an anytime remediation rate of 28.8 percent, a two-year-remediation rate of 26.8 percent and a one-year remediation rate of 25.8 percent in 2014, according to the Arkansas Department of Higher Education.
UAPB had a two-year remediation rate of 70.8 percent and a one-year remediation rate of 69.6 percent in 2014, according to the Department of Higher Education. The report did not include those rates for earlier years.