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"Refresher"
Courses Spur
Development of Edison Students
Who Go on to Land Good Jobs
 he term
"refresher" is far more positive and accurate than "remedial" when applied to college course work that enables a student to first become "college ready."
Just ask David Christian, who was out of high school several years and had already changed careers twice before studying electrical engineering technology at Edison Community College.
"If you don't use it, you lose it," said Christian, speaking of the math he learned in high school.
"When I finally returned to the classroom at Edison, I applied the math over and over. I got on a roll," noted the Troy resident.
Christian graduated from Edison in 1999 with a near perfect 3.88 grade—point average and recorded A's in two Calculus classes.
"For me and other Edison students who have been away from school for a while, the developmental course work is hardly remediation," Christian stated.
He explained that the term "remedial" is often used to describe "study which overcomes a serious deficiency" in a particular subject.
"I simply had to retool so I could retrain. I got refreshed," Christian said. "Edison gave me the confidence and encouragement to make a smooth transition back to the books."
oday Christian holds a good job as a technical service publications specialist with Hobart-ITW Food Equipment Group. He uses his background in electrical and mechanical engineering technology to develop manuals for service technicians working for Hobart throughout North America.
Recently, in a lengthy report for Ohio Governor Taft, the Ohio Board of Regents (OBR) highlighted that one-third of the college freshmen in Ohio need "remediation"
in English or mathematics.
Michael Brown, OBR Executive Director of
Communications, indicated that the term "remediation"
has a negative stigma and perhaps too broadly categorizes many college students who are not seriously lacking previous preparation.
"There's a positive story to be told here," Brown explained. "Community colleges, like Edison, do an
especially good job getting students ready for college-level course work and turning them into valuable members of the workforce."
Brown said that this is a "win-win situation" for the students, their families, and employers.
Beth Culbertson, Edison's director of admissions, pointed out that even some Edison students right out of high school need refreshed with developmental study.
"Senioritis can keep bright students from achieving in high school like they should," Culbertson said.
 Caleb
Lusk, an Edison mechanical design grad, is a good example.
"I did okay in the ninth and tenth grades, but was more concerned about girls than grades when I finished
up," Lusk said. "I didn't care if I retained much of anything my senior year."
After being advised by his high school counselor and parents to pursue college, Lusk did so a year after graduation.
"Once I got in a developmental class at Edison, the math came back to me in a jiffy," said Lusk, who then tested out of two additional developmental classes.
Like Christian, Lusk completed an Edison associate degree with honors. Today, he commands a salary of nearly $40,000 a year, designing special enclosures for computer networking.
Unlike most universities, Edison and the community colleges reach out to a wide range of students, including high school graduates and those of various
ages returning for retraining and exploration of new fields.
In fact, Ohio's community colleges deserve a lot of the credit for the statewide increase in the higher education participation rate.
"Their customer service combines with a supportive, comfortable learning environment to give students
a great opportunity for success," Brown detailed.
he instructional quality is extremely high, too.
For example, Edison English and math studies have been highly praised by outside evaluators from four-year institutions, business, and industry. In fact, the math program was recently ranked among the ten best in North America.
"Edison professors helped me land the position I've got now," Christian said. "Previously, I was hustling going from one job to the next."
Early in his career, Christian was affected by both a layoff and a business closing.
"The Edison experience was refreshing. I'm invigorated," he said. "And I don’t plan to stop now with my career development."
Christian is currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering technology at the University of Dayton.
December 12, 2001
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