ISU students who need to brush up on basic math and writing skills before taking college-level courses often find themselves in remedial courses.

But many students don’t take advantage of the knowledge remedial courses have to offer, university instructors say.

Pauline Hall, lecturer in mathematics, is one of three instructors teaching the 349 students in Math 10, Iowa State’s remedial math course.

Students may be referred to the remedial course if they do poorly on math placement tests and need to improve their basic knowledge of mathematical concepts before taking a college-level course, she said.

Students in the remedial class are split into two groups based on ability, Hall said.

The lower group is equivalent to Algebra I and the higher group is equivalent to Algebra II, she said.

Hall said students often choose to not attend remedial classes or drop out before completing the course.

“Part of it is the remedial class is worth no credit, so if you have a class that you’re getting credit for, what do you work on harder?” she said. “Because we’re zero credit, the motivation has got to be that students can’t go into another credit math class until they’ve completed [the remedial course].”

Hall said students’ pre-formed attitudes about math might prevent them from excelling in the remedial course.

Some students don’t think they are poor at math based on high school experiences, she said. Others don’t feel they need the course because they have already taken algebra in high school.

Hall said students who take Math 10 seriously will benefit from the course.

“Those that stick with us and give us a chance and do the work will catch on,” she said. “We pass around 95 percent of students that stick with us until the end [of the course].”

Kathleen Jones, registrar, said ISU students are responsible for paying for remedial math classes in addition to full-time tuition.

The fee is equal to two credits of tuition, or $308 for both resident and nonresident students, according to the ISU Web site, www.iastate.edu.

“Normally, we expect students to come in not needing Math 10,” she said. “The decision was made many years ago that students who need to take high school algebra would pay a developmental math fee.”

Jones said remedial English courses are for international students, not high school students needing additional help.

“Those students are here on student visas to study. They need English skills in order to complete class work,” she said.

Jones said there are 135 students enrolled in English 10 and 530 enrollments in English 101. Both classes are intensive English orientation courses for speakers of other languages, she said.

Greg Nichols, executive director of the Iowa Board of Regents, said the difficulties students face in areas like mathematics begin early in their education.

“Since we do have some students who need this help, we want to increase our efforts with Iowa’s K-12 schools,” he said. Making sure students understand what they learn in high school will prepare them for college success, he said.

Nichols said the Iowa Board of Regents does not have a policy on the remedial courses.