Editorial: Toughen program’s standards

Monday, Feb. 24, 2003 | 8:58 a.m.

Last week Chancellor Jane Nichols of the University and Community College System of Nevada said that about 30 percent of Nevada's Millennium Scholarship recipients must take remedial courses after they enroll in college. That statistic certainly is discouraging in light of the fact that it takes a 3.0 grade-point average or better to receive the Millennium Scholarship. A small percentage of Millennium Scholars might be expected to take remedial courses, but 30 percent is out of whack.

It's unclear why so many students need remedial work, but a couple of theories offer explanations. For starters, there could be grade inflation at work in the high schools, a situation that might mask the true performance of students. Some students also could be taking easier courses instead of demanding ones in order to boost their GPA so that they can qualify for the $10,000 scholarship.

The Millennium Scholarship program is invaluable, but there needs to be a recognition that it's unacceptable for three in 10 students on scholarship to be taking remedial courses. Nichols said students who don't take math in their senior year are "certain" to be placed in remedial courses. Not only should seniors take math in their senior year, they also should follow Nichols' advice that they take writing and science courses to avoid remedial work. The scholarship program should toughen its requirements so that scholarship-eligible students are taking advanced courses throughout their high school years. The program should even consider requiring that scholarship recipients obtain a minimum GPA on certain core courses, such as in math and writing. This could help alleviate the problem of such a high percentage of Millennium Scholars needing remedial help i n their freshman years.