Developmental Education

Developmental Education at Gaston College

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In an effort to better serve students who require developmental courses, the North Carolina Community College System implemented a new model for developmental education, Reinforced Instruction for Student Excellence (RISE), in 2019. For most students, RISE replaced prerequisite remediation with corequisite remediation, with a goal of providing students an opportunity to successfully complete their gateway math and English courses on their first attempts.

Applicants who have graduated from a US high school within the last 10 years are placed into gateway English and math courses using the following high school GPA ranges:

  • 2.8 or higher – May register for any gateway English or Math course.
  • 2.2 – 2.799 – May register for any gateway English or math course and be required to take the corresponding corequisite course.
  • 0.0 – 2.199 – Must successfully complete Transition English and Transition Math prior to enrolling into gateway English or math courses.

The Transition English and Transition Math courses provide one semester (or less) of developmental education prior to enrollment in the gateway English and math courses. The corequisite courses allow students to enroll directly into their gateway English and math courses while receiving academic support alongside their gateway classes.

Key benefits for students:

  • Eliminates the placement test, except in rare cases
  • Reduces time to degree completion
  • Increases the number of students that successfully pass a gateway English and Math course
  • Provides student success skills, growth mindset activities, and soft skills in transition and corequisite courses

The chart below provides a crosswalk from the previous developmental course model to the RISE model.

Crosswalk for Previous Developmental Coursework

Credit Under Current Model Credit Under Rise Model Course Eligibility
DRE 097 ENG 002, Mastery of Tier 1 ENG 111 with Coreq Course
     
DRE 098 ENG 002, Mastery of Tiers 1 and 2 ENG 111 without Coreq Course
     
DMA 010, 020, 030 MAT 003, Mastery of Tier 1 MAT 110 without Coreq Course

MAT 143 with Coreq Course

MAT 152 with Coreq Course

     
DMA 010, 020, 030, 040, 050 MAT 003, Mastery of Tiers 1 and 2 MAT 110 without Coreq Course

MAT 143 without Coreq Course

MAT 152 without Coreq Course

MAT 121 with Coreq Course

MAT 171 with Coreq Course

     
DMA 010, 020, 030, 040, 050, 065 MAT 003, Mastery of Tiers 1, 2, and 3 MAT 110 without Coreq Course

MAT 143 without Coreq Course

MAT 152 without Coreq Course

MAT 121 without Coreq Course

MAT 171 without Coreq Course

*It is essential for students to know the mathematics course required for their program

Instructional Delivery Methods and Grading

Transition Courses

  • Mini lectures
  • Personalization for each student
  • Mastery based
  • Seated and online courses
  • Pass (P)/Repeat (R) system rather than the traditional A-F system

Corequisite Courses

  • Mini lectures
  • Small group collaboration
  • Seated and online courses
  • Pass (P)/Fail (F) system rather than the traditional A-F system

Contact Information

For questions about placement and Developmental Education, please contact your Academic Advisor.