classroom visitation. Some instructors encourage their students to seek help at ACE by offering extra-credit points or making ACE hours a requirement. ACE has an impressive track record for helping students succeed academically. For example, the fall 2005 to fall 2006 retention rate was 75 percent for regular ACE students (those who utilized the Center's services 7 or more times during the semester) compared to 55 percent for the entire University. Of those students, 85 percent passed with a "C" or better the classes in which they received tutoring. For the fall 2006 to fall 2007 term, the retention rate for freshmen students who used ACE had increased to 88 percent compared to the University average that year of 47 percent. In-house student surveys of student satisfaction with the overall services of ACE (Instructional Counselors, Supplemental Instructors, and peer tutors) revealed that 94 percent of surveyed students rated the Center as "Excellent/Good;" 97 percent rated courteous treatment to be "Excellent/Good;" and 94 percent indicated that the study skills strategies they learned were "Excellent/Good." (Link to Report of the Developmental Education Committee_p15_12-11-06.pdf) (Link to Ace Increase in Retention.pdf)

Areas that have proven to be especially challenging for the University have been academic advising for students with undeclared majors and helping new students with developmental needs in their transition from high school to college. Providing adequate advising for students with undeclared majors, particularly freshmen, is the primary task of the Faculty Advising Council (FAC). It is under the Director of Advising and is staffed by 8 faculty from various colleges and departments. While more successful than the university's former, less coordinated approach to advising students with undeclared majors, the FAC is constrained by the fact that many of the faculty advisors do not have the students they advise in their classes, which makes it difficult for them to be in touch with their advisees. In an effort to strengthen the program, the University is in the process of hiring two additional full-time professional advisors. Helping a select group of students in their academic transition to college is the function of the Academic Bridge Program. It is a preparatory program for enhancing the academic background and experience of high school graduates who require some developmental course work in one or two subject areas prior to entering the University for the fall term. The Bridge program provides a learner-centered introductory environment designed to ease the transition from high school to college and to promote academic success. Students enroll in nine hours of classes and participate in other academically-related activities during the summer academic term. Once students complete Summer Bridge they enroll for fall courses but no longer receive the extra attention the program provided. In the case of the Bridge Program for 2007, an examination of the grades earned by students during the fall semester shows that 47 percent received grades below "C" or withdrew from gateway courses, and when all courses taken are factored into the results, 62 percent received grades below "C" or withdrew. (Link to 2007Bridge_Fall_Unsatisfactory_Dev&GateGrades.pdf) Those results suggest that students with developmental needs require continued support if they are to have a reasonable chance of success at the University.

Overall, the DEC report concluded its findings with the statement, “In summary, the current KSU developmental program is decentralized with very little coordination among the groups involved. The lack of academic, personal and social support for this large group of students contributes to the high failure rates that we see.” (Link to Report of the Developmental Education Committee_p8-9_12-11-06.pdf). Since that

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