The Office of Transition and University Services welcomes you to Eastern Kentucky University. We are providing information that will be useful as you enter the developmental education classroom or as you seek to support students needing to build basic skills. Our office is committed to student learning and providing the services needed by faculty and staff to support learning, especially for students entering under-prepared for college-level coursework. An online developmental faculty training program is provided to give you some essential information about your department, the university, and developmental education in your content area. We base our training program on the Kentucky Association for Developmental Education faculty training outline developed by the 2006 KADE Leadership Team. Faculty within the content areas developed the specific training guides for reading, English, and mathematics. Our goal is to create a better understanding of the needs of students and to provide an information base, encouragement, and best practices you need in the developmental education classroom.

Our Developmental Education Program seeks to preserve and make possible educational opportunities for each postsecondary learner. The developmental education program at Eastern Kentucky University was designed to help students achieve academic success by developing or enhancing skills in the three basic skill areas: reading, writing and mathematics. The development of these basic skills is needed for success in college-level coursework.

Across the United States over two million students enter postsecondary education needing to build basic skills in at least one of the three content areas. There are approximately 3,200 developmental enrollments and 140 developmental courses offered each academic year at EKU. The National Association for Developmental Education and the Kentucky Association for Developmental Education provide valuable resources to faculty and staff of developmental education programs. There are links to both the NADE and KADE websites above. I encourage you to print and read the NADE Fact Sheet (in PDF format) and read again the mission, purpose, definition, and goals of developmental education.

The developmental education website www.developmentaleducation.eku.edu provides information about all developmental courses, how students are placed in such courses and policies related to developmental education at the University. The program integrates courses in reading, English and mathematics with a three-hour orientation course, GSO 102 Transition to College, for students with two or three basic skill area needs. GSO 102 provides an intensive introduction to the university, including study skills, cultural and learning resources, academic life, university policies and procedures, and self-exploratory activities and academic personal growth.

Academic advising, tutoring, and transition programs are important and valued components of a successful developmental education program. EKU uses full-time academic advisors or faculty advisors with training specific to the needs of developmental students to provide advising services for students with two or three developmental needs areas. The University also provides free tutoring services for all students. Students taking developmental education courses are strongly encouraged to take advantage of these services. Tutoring and support services are provided by the University Writing Center, Mathematics and Statistics Tutoring Center, and the Weaver Tutoring Center. In addition to tutoring services, EKU provides transition services through programs such as the five-week First Step to College Success summer program. This retention-based program was designed for incoming freshmen entering with basic skill needs. Students are encouraged to complete needed coursework so they may begin their first fall semester in college-level coursework that leads to a degree in their intended program of study. A need has been identified for programming and services for students entering the University from the workforce. Programming is currently being developed to address this need.

EKU's Developmental Education Program model is a hybrid model. The departments of English and Theatre and Mathematics and Statistics offer two courses in each of the three content areas: reading, English, and mathematics. The University Developmental Education Advisory Committee with representatives from the academic departments and University staff supports the program. The Office of Transition and University Services provides administrative support to academic departments and program evaluation, assessment, and coordination. The Director works with academic departments to coordinate programs, coursework, services, advising and placement of developmental students, and assessment for the Developmental Education Program. Developmental enrollments, policy reviews, course prerequisites, course offerings, developmental holds on student schedules, developmental dismissals, and other issues related to the developmental policy are also coordinated by the Office of Transition and University Services. English and Theatre and Mathematics and Statistics have developmental coordinators, one in each academic unit, to coordinate developmental coursework and provide administrative support for students, faculty, and the department. There are departmental committees for English, reading, and mathematics that address particular curricular issues and concerns for each of the three developmental content areas.

Each of the training guides within the content areas contains information related to the day-to-day operational needs of faculty as a member of the University and the academic department. Also included in the guides are the context and best practices related to teaching developmental education courses in the content area, best instructional practices related to the course and classroom practices that impact classroom management and teaching, and the support available to faculty from the academic department, the University, and professional organizations.

Thank you for your support of the Eastern Kentucky University Developmental Education Program. The program is provided so that under-prepared students can prepare, prepared students can advance, and advanced students can excel in the university setting. Please feel free to contact your departmental coordinator or the Office of Transition and University Services with any questions about developmental education.