Dec 09, 2024  
2013-2014 Catalog 
    
2013-2014 Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Developmental Studies


The Florida Legislature created, by statute, College Preparatory Programs, now referred to as Developmental Programs, in all of Florida’s community colleges effective July 1, 1985. All degree and certificate-seeking students are tested prior to registration. Edison State recognizes the ACT-E, SAT-R, and PERT tests for purposes of evaluation. The PERT is routinely given to entering students.

Students must present scores on the above tests that have been earned within the two (2) years prior to admission to Edison State. Further testing on the PERT may be necessary if the scores are more than two (2) years old.

Students must enroll in Developmental communication and computation instruction if test scores are below the specific levels. (Please see Assessment Services in the Student Services section for more information.)

Students scoring above the specific scores on the placement test may enroll in college credit instruction. Students scoring below the specific scores on the placement test are required to enter Developmental instruction. Developmental instruction does NOT count toward meeting degree requirements.

Students who test into Developmental instruction and subsequently enroll in Developmental instruction must successfully complete the required Developmental coursework by the time they have successfully accumulated 12 hours of college-level coursework, or they must maintain continuous enrollment in Developmental coursework each semester until the requirements are completed while performing satisfactorily in the degree earning coursework.

Students cannot enroll for more than three (3) attempts in each course to complete Developmental instruction. Students enrolled in a Developmental course who drop the course after the drop/add period are considered to have utilized one of the three attempts allowed to complete that course.

Students who must enroll in the same Developmental course a third time shall pay fees at 100 percent of the full cost of instruction. Students who withdraw or fail a class due to extenuating circumstances, or who have a financial hardship, may be granted an exception to the 100 percent full cost of instruction (please see “Petitions” in the Student Records section for more information). Students must provide written documentation of financial hardship, disability, or extenuating circumstances that resulted in the withdrawal or failure. Such documentation shall be submitted to the College Registrar for consideration.

Students are permitted to enroll in Developmental instruction concurrently with credit instruction in courses for which they are qualified. College preparatory students may not enroll in the following categories of college credit courses while completing their Developmental coursework:

  1. Developmental students who are deficient in mathematics may not enroll in any college-level mathematics course or courses that require mathematics skills beyond the skill level of the student.
  2. Developmental students who are deficient in English and/or reading skills may not enroll in English or humanities courses that meet the Gordon Rule requirements or any courses that require communication skills beyond the skill level of the student.
  3. Developmental students who are deficient in all three areas may enroll in college-level courses such as orientation courses, college success courses or courses that are not dependent on college-level computation and communication skills.
  4. Developmental instruction is provided in reading, writing, and mathematics. There are two levels of reading, two levels of English, and two levels of mathematics.

Developmental reading instruction includes the recognition of main ideas, supporting details, meanings of words in context, author’s purpose, tone, valid arguments, explicit and implicit relationships within and between sentences, and the ability to detect bias, to distinguish fact from opinion, and to draw logical inferences and conclusion.

Developmental writing instruction includes grammatical concepts and usage, punctuation, word choice, and paragraph and essay development.

Developmental mathematics instruction includes arithmetic and introductory algebra including real numbers and their properties and basic operations, linear expressions, factoring of algebraic expressions, solutions of linear equations and inequalities, graphing, and quadratic equations.

All Developmental classes are 4 credit hours. There may be a required lab component that must be completed in the Developmental Prep Center. The hours of the Developmental Prep Center are posted every semester. The student’s lab component can be completed any time the Developmental Prep Center is open.

Developmental Mathematics Sequence

 

 

Developmental Reading Sequence

 

 

Developmental Writing Sequence