No community college means YSU must do remedial work

EDITOR:
After reading Bertram de Souza's column last Sunday, I felt compelled to respond. Some clarifications must be made in reference to some of Mr. de Souza's points dealing with Youngstown State University and its remedial program. I have the privilege of sitting on the Governor's Partnership for Continued Learning Council, the entity drawing up the Ohio Core curriculum standards that Mr. de Souza talks about in his column.
From the beginning of this Council's work sessions two years ago in Columbus, it was pointed out that Ohio's high school students statewide were having challenges when entering their freshmen year in state-supported universities. Many, not all, had serious deficiencies in math and science and were forced into remedial programs. To avoid the additional burden of the four-year campuses providing this remedial instruction, the Partnership for Continued Learning recommended that after these students were tested and it was determined that they had some academic challenges, they would be referred to a two-year community college in their region for remedial instruction.
But the closest community college to YSU would be in Stark County, so it was determined that YSU would continue to provide remedial instruction for incoming students in need of such curriculum.
Obviously, with the arrival of the Ohio Core curriculum that all high schools will have to adhere to by 2011, students entering higher education, here and across the state, will be ready for their college-level classes down the road. As far as a community college becoming a reality here in the Mahoning Valley some day, talks are already underway on the local and state level. For now, though, remedial instruction is necessary for those students in need, and YSU will carry on that role.
THOMAS M. HUMPHRIES, president
Regional Chamber
Youngstown