Higher Education Nonprofit To Give $1.8M In Grants To Help Students Avoid Remedial Classes

A group which focuses on increasing access to higher education is giving four programs in Madison and Milwaukee $1. 8 million in grants to help students avoid remedial classes in college.

Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation is in its third year of giving out College Ready grants. This time, instead of receiving money to fund one year of tutoring in math and English, 355 high school juniors will receive two years of help. The College Ready programs will also narrow their focus to students who actually are within striking distance of reaching academic benchmarks.

“They’re all doing academic instruction,” said Ben Dobner, director of education grantmaking for the corporation. “Some are doing it in lieu of high school courses. Some are doing them outside of class time.”

Dobner said too many students are arriving on campus without essential skills in math and reading, and that many hoping to get a college degree never make it beyond their first year.

A bill before the Wisconsin State Legislature would require the University of Wisconsin System to report which high schools UW students attended before taking remedial courses in college.