CT Community Colleges

Access and opportunity are cornerstones to the mission of Connecticut’s Community Colleges and this often means providing some level of developmental course work. In Fall 2006, 12,205 of the 46,489 or 26% of the credit students attending a Connecticut Community College were enrolled in at least one basic skills Mathematics or English course.

Mathematics is a key foundation for many programs of study and especially for those programs related to work force shortage areas such as allied health and the technologies. How successful are community college students in developmental mathematics courses? (Success in developmental course work enhances the level of preparedness a student brings to college-level work. Success is defined as completing a course with a grade of C or higher. Given the level of content mastery needed in preparation for college-level work, the success standard for developmental courses is higher than that of a regular college course where a C– might be acceptable.)

Over the last five years (2002-2006), the percentage of students in the Connecticut Community Colleges successfully completing developmental mathematics courses has remained relatively consistent, ranging between 48% and 55%.

In Fall 2006, 4,046 students were enrolled in Pre-Algebra and 4,946 students were enrolled in Elementary Algebra; a total of 8,992 students (19% of all credit students). Among those enrolled in Pre-Algebra, 47% were successful completers. Among those enrolled in Elementary Algebra, 48% were successful completers. In total, 48% of all students enrolled in a developmental mathematics course completed that course successfully.

Colleges are taking steps to better understand developmental students including their level of engagement with the learning process. These efforts are clearly embedded with the system’s "Achieving the Dream" initiatives. The minority male initiative at Capital, the Bridges program at Housatonic, and new triage approach to student success at Norwalk are all designed to address local and national concerns related to the declining number of males attending and completing college, the related demographics of high school dropout rates, and the resultant lack of adequate workforce preparation and the potential marginalization of low socio-economic and minority demographic groups in today’s knowledge economy. Enhanced capabilities for longitudinal tracking of students at all twelve colleges is a system priority and will lead to a more comprehensive analysis of learning outcomes and therefore a more focused assessment of those policies and practices designed to support student learning and success.

	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Basic Skills Mathematics Enrollment	8,067	8,575	8,983	8,336	8,992
System Enrollment	44,869	45,160	45,743	46,227	46,489
% Enrolled in Basic Skills Mathematics	18%	19%	20%	19%	19%
% Passed Basic Skills Mathematics	55%	53%	50%	48%	48%

Pre-Algebra
	Fall 2005 Headcount	Enrolled	% Enrolled	Passed	% Passed	Fall 2006 Headcount	Enrolled	% Enrolled	Passed	% Passed
Asnuntuck	1,483	69	4.7%	45	65.2%	1,638	65	4.0%	44	67.7%
Northwestern CT	1,569	87	5.5%	47	54.0%	1,544	109	7.1%	59	54.1%
Quinebaug Valley	1,714	151	8.8%	105	69.5%	1,779	146	8.2%	99	67.8%

Capital	3,573	317	8.9%	114	36.0%	3,550	321	9.0%	152	47.4%
Gateway	5,739	837	14.6%	468	55.9%	5,824	788	13.5%	395	50.1%
Housatonic	4,471	577	12.9%	239	41.4%	4,431	565	12.8%	249	44.1%

Manchester	6,135	289	4.7%	184	63.7%	6,094	232	3.8%	142	61.2%
Naugatuck Valley	5,667	285	5.0%	123	43.2%	5,659	263	4.6%	125	47.5%
Norwalk	6,036	404	6.7%	204	50.5%	6,040	450	7.5%	205	45.6%

Middlesex	2,286	250	10.9%	125	50.0%	2,474	288	11.6%	134	46.5%
Three Rivers	3,660	501	13.7%	232	46.3%	3,793	518	13.7%	230	44.4%
Tunxis	3,894	330	8.5%	126	38.2%	3,663	301	8.2%	84	27.9%
All CCCs	46,227	4,097	8.9%	2,012	49.1%	46,489	4,046	8.7%	1,918	47.4%

Elementary Algebra
	Fall 2005 Headcount	Enrolled	% Enrolled	Passed	% Passed	Fall 2006 Headcount	Enrolled	% Enrolled	Passed	% Passed
Asnuntuck	1,483	135	9.1%	79	58.5%	1,638	111	6.8%	48	43.2%
Northwestern CT	1,569	152	9.7%	74	48.7%	1,544	151	9.8%	67	44.4%
Quinebaug Valley	1,714	207	12.1%	119	57.5%	1,779	168	9.4%	87	51.8%

Capital	3,573	276	7.7%	125	45.3%	3,550	322	9.1%	135	41.9%
Gateway	5,739	622	10.8%	337	54.2%	5,824	617	10.6%	331	53.6%
Housatonic	4,471	374	8.4%	166	44.4%	4,431	402	9.1%	205	51.0%

Manchester	6,135	396	6.5%	225	56.8%	6,094	412	6.8%	252	61.2%
Naugatuck Valley	5,667	833	14.7%	406	48.7%	5,659	905	16.0%	446	49.3%
Norwalk	6,036	531	8.8%	209	39.4%	6,040	530	8.8%	244	46.0%

Middlesex	2,286	174	7.6%	80	46.0%	2,474	208	8.4%	114	54.8%
Three Rivers	3,660	500	13.7%	178	35.6%	3,793	564	14.9%	233	41.3%
Tunxis	3,894	539	13.8%	214	39.7%	3,663	556	15.2%	229	41.2%
All CCCs	46,227	4,739	10.3%	2,212	46.7%	46,489	4,946	10.6%	2,391	48.3%

All Developmental Mathematics
	Fall 2005 Headcount	Enrolled	% Enrolled	Passed	% Passed	Fall 2006 Headcount	Enrolled	% Enrolled	Passed	% Passed
Asnuntuck	1,483	204	13.8%	124	60.8%	1,638	176	10.7%	92	52.3%
Northwestern CT	1,569	239	15.2%	121	50.6%	1,544	260	16.8%	126	48.5%
Quinebaug Valley	1,714	358	20.9%	224	62.6%	1,779	314	17.7%	186	59.2%

Capital	3,573	593	16.6%	239	40.3%	3,550	643	18.1%	287	44.6%
Gateway	5,739	1,459	25.4%	805	55.2%	5,824	1,405	24.1%	726	51.7%
Housatonic	4,471	951	21.3%	405	42.6%	4,431	967	21.8%	454	46.9%

Manchester	6,135	685	11.2%	409	59.7%	6,094	644	10.6%	394	61.2%
Naugatuck Valley	5,667	1,118	19.7%	529	47.3%	5,659	1,168	20.6%	571	48.9%
Norwalk	6,036	935	15.5%	413	44.2%	6,040	980	16.2%	449	45.8%

Middlesex	2,286	424	18.5%	205	48.3%	2,474	496	20.0%	248	50.0%
Three Rivers	3,660	1,001	27.3%	410	41.0%	3,793	1,082	28.5%	463	42.8%
Tunxis	3,894	869	22.3%	340	39.1%	3,663	857	23.4%	313	36.5%
All CCCs	46,227	8,836	19.1%	4,224	47.8%	46,489	8,992	19.3%	4,309	47.9%