2007-2008 Academic Catalog

Developmental Education

The mission of developmental education at UAF is to offer programs and services to address academic preparedness, assessment and placement, barriers to learning, and development of general and discipline specific learning strategies for all students.

The goals of this academic department are to: preserve and make possible educational opportunity for each postsecondary student; develop in each student the skills and attitudes to attain academic, career and life goals; ensure proper placement by assessing each student’s level of preparedness for college course work; maintain academic standards by enabling students to succeed in mainstream college courses; enhance the retention of students; and promote the continued development and application of cognitive and affective learning theory.

Developmental education courses are designed to prepare students for admission to university academic and vocational/technical programs, help students who are having trouble with courses or want to improve their proficiency, and help students who want to improve their skills but are not necessarily enrolled in a program.

The need for developmental education services is determined by high school transcripts, test scores, other achievement data and discussions with counselors and advisors. Students may also elect developmental education courses based on personal assessment. There are three categories of developmental education courses: communication skills, math skills and information acquisition skills. Course descriptions for developmental education are listed in developmental studies, English and mathematics.

For more information contact the Department of Developmental Education offices at (907) 474-1112.