2002-2004 Catalog - St. Charles Community College

St. Charles Community CollegeDEVELOPMENTAL PROGRAMKEYS TO SUCCESSNot all students who wish to attend college areequipped with the academic background and studyskills needed for a successful college experience.Some students may excel at math and science, butin English and communications they struggle. Otherstudents may have bypassed a college prep courseor two in high school and now find they are in needof catching up. Still more students, especially thosewho have been out of school for awhile, just needto brush up on rusty academic skills.At one time or another, everybody needs somekind of help; that is why the college offers developmentalstudies. The courses directly relate to SCCcareer-technical and college transfer programs,making it possible for students with skills deficienciesin any academic area to prepare for regularcollege-level courses and to succeed. In fact, one ofthe primary missions of the college is to provideopportunities for all our residents to succeed onthe job, at home, and at the college. For manypeople, developmental studies can offer a secondchance at education.CONCENTRATINGON THE BASICSDevelopmental courses represent a broad spectrumof classes that include the areas of math, reading,writing, and study skills. Each course isdesigned to help students develop new academicskills or refresh old skills in order to complete anacademic major of choice. Some developmentalclasses are available as individual study unitsthrough the ACE Center while others are taught in theclassroom. Before enrolling, your skills will beassessed to assure placement in appropriatecourse work.Sometimes, students take developmental coursesvoluntarily because they realize their skills inone area may not be as sharp as they should be orbecause they are unsure of their present skill proficiencies.Others take developmental studies at therecommendation of an SCC counselor becausetheir high school transcripts, test scores, and otherdata concerning past academic achievements indicatea need for further study of basic skills.Selecting courses to match your present level ofabilities is a smart way to assure that your first experienceat SCC will be a good experience. Developmentalstudies can make the margin of difference.FOCUSING ON YOUR NEEDSThrough smaller classes and carefullysequenced instruction, you can work through theprogression of developmental courses. Becausemost of these courses award grades of “P” (pass),“R” (repeat), or “F” (fail), the pressure of theusual grading scale is removed and you can concentrateon mastering the basics before moving onto college-level work.The “R” grade, which is only available in developmentalcourses, indicates that you are makingprogress through the course objectives but have notyet achieved the mastery necessary to move to thenext level. By re-enrolling in the course, you haveanother semester to master the course material.Developmental studies courses are distinguishedfrom other courses by prefix codes numberedbelow 100 and are sequenced according totheir level of difficulty. They cannot be used tofulfill the requirements of the associate's degreeand they cannot transfer, but they may be usedtoward a career-technical certificate if no othercourse is specified in its curriculum.Students completing developmental classesare in most cases well prepared for college-levelcredit courses.Developmental course credits will be computedin credits attempted and credits completed. Allcourses graded with a pass/repeat/fail grade willnot be computed in the GPA.STUDY ASSISTANCEStudents experiencing difficulties in classshould, at the first sign of trouble, go to the ACECenter for assistance. Help is available on a walk-inand appointment basis in math, foreign languages,reading, several of the sciences, history, and studyskills. English assistance is available by appointment.Study groups are formed each semester forseveral levels of math, biology, anatomy and physiology,and chemistry. The ACE Center providesassistance six days and four nights a week.94