Foundations for College Success (FOCUS)

Mission Statement
The WVU Parkersburg Foundations for College Success Program (FOCUS) welcomes individuals to the campus community and supports their growth in knowledge, learning strategies, social skills, motivation and as they pursue their educational goals and embark on life-long learning.

What are Developmental Education courses?
Developmental Education courses are courses designed to strengthen students’ basic skills in reading, writing, and mathematics so that students can cope more successfully with college-level work. All developmental courses are numbered below 100 in the college catalog of courses.

• LA 097 Practical Reading & Writing, 3 credit hours
• READ 009 Special Problems in Reading, 3 credit hours
• READ 079 College Reading I, 3 credit hours
• READ 080 Reading in the Content Area, 3 credit hours
• ENGL 049 Basic Writing, 3 credit hours
• ENGL 091 Pre-College Writing, 3 credit hours
• MATH 011 Arithmetic, 3 credit hours
• MATH 021 Elementary Algebra, 4 credit hours

Who needs to take developmental courses?
Students are placed in developmental courses according to their ACT/SAT scores and/or their performance on the College Board’s Accuplacer Testing System.

READING
Students who do not demonstrate reading power of at least 12.5 grade equivalency need to enroll in a developmental reading course.

Score below 17 on the reading section of the Enhanced American College Testing (ACT) program

Score below 420 on the verbal section of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT-1)

Score below 79 on the reading comprehension test of the College Board’s Accuplacer testing system

ENGLISH
Students who do not demonstrate college level control of the organization, development, and mechanics of writing need to enroll in a developmental English course.

Score below 18 on the English section of the Enhanced American College Testing (ACT) program

Score below 450 on the verbal portion of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT-1)

Scaled score below 88 on the Sentence Skills test of the College Board’s Accuplacer testing system

MATHEMATICS
Students who do not demonstrate college level knowledge of mathematics need to enroll in a developmental mathematics course.

Score below 19 on the mathematics section of the Enhanced American College Testing program

Score below 460 on the quantitative portion of the College Board’s Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT-1)

Scaled scores below 85 on the arithmetic test and below 84 of the elementary algebra test of the College Board’s Accuplacer testing system

How do students move beyond Developmental Education courses?
Students successfully complete developmental courses by meeting the requirements of the developmental course and by demonstrating the competencies which are needed for the entry level math, English, and content courses.

Do Developmental Education courses count for course load?
Yes. Credit hours in developmental courses are calculated in the student’s overall course load for such purposes as determining fulltime or part-time status and meeting financial aid standards.

Do Developmental Education courses count toward graduation?
No. Credit hours earned in developmental courses are not included in the tabulation of total credit hours required for graduation. They are the foundation upon which the student later builds college-level course credits.

Are grades earned in Developmental Education courses figured into the grade-point average?
No. Grades earned in developmental courses are not used in computing a student’s grade point average.

If a placement test places a student in a developmental course, but the student doesn’t register for the required developmental course right away, does the student need to retake the placement test?
For developmental reading and English courses, the placement test scores are valid for two years. For developmental mathematics courses, the placement test scores are valid for six months.

Student Development Classes
Student Development classes help new students make a successful adjustment to college.

Students who are required to take two or more developmental courses are also required to register for SDEV 101 in the first semester of registration.

• SDEV 101 Orientation to College, 3 credit hours
• SDEV 102 Study Skills, 2 credit hours
• SDEV 103 Career Planning, 1 credit hour
• SDEV 104 Job Search Techniques, 1 credit hour
• SDEV 105 Substance Abuse Education, 1 credit hour
• SDEV 108 Personal Development, 3 credit hours
• SDEV 200 Leadership Development/Community Service, 3 credit hours

The Learning Center
The Learning Center provides free tutorial assistance for the Developmental Education courses as well as for other college-level courses. Videotapes, computer-assisted instruction, specialized equipment, and other resources are also available.

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