Not Just Faster: Equity and Learning Centered Developmental Education Strategies

Oct 15, 2026

“Not Just Faster: Equity and Learning Centered Developmental Education Strategies” presents the Southern Education Foundation’s MSI Consortium for Innovation and Change initiative, launched to reduce educational barriers that hinder degree attainment for low-income students and students of color. The report summarizes developmental education (DE) interventions carried out by five Minority-Serving Institutions, including evaluation approaches using experimental and quasi-experimental methods. It reports outcomes for nearly 1,000 participating students, examines evidence-based models that accelerate or eliminate DE, and highlights strategies and lessons for scaling DE reforms to improve teaching, learning, and equity.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages36

Reading Time1 h 31 min

AccessFree to download

Executive Summary

Introduction

Evidence-Based Models

Model 1: Summer Bridge Program

Model 2: Co-Requisite Courses

Model 3: Interdisciplinary Curricula

Model 4: Extended Courses

Model 5: Accelerated Math

Outcomes

Research and Evaluation

Lessons for Scaling DE Initiatives

Conclusions

Appendix A

References

Not Just Faster: EQUITY & LEARNING CENTERED DEVELOPMENTAL EDUCATION STRATEGIES MSI Consortium for Innovation and Change 2016 “The current push in higher education to make college level, credit-bearing courses more accessible to all students, but especially students of color and low-income college students, is the single most significant action being taken to dismantle structural inequality in higher education.” Executive Summary ~~ ~~ 5 Introduction ~~ ~~ 6 Evidence-Based Models~~ ~~ 8 Outcomes ~~ ~~ 10 Model 1: Summer Bridge Program ~~ ~~ 12 Model 2: Co-Requisite Courses ~~ ~~ 14 Model 3: Interdisciplinary Curricula ~~ ~~ 16 Model 4: Extended Courses ~~ ~~ 19 Model 5: Accelerated Math ~~ ~~ 22 Research and Evaluation ~~ ~~ 24 Lessons for Scaling DE Initiatives ~~ ~~ 26 Conclusions ~~ ~~ 28 Appendix A ~~ ~~ 30 References ~~ ~~ 32 Author Information ~~ ~~ 34 4 Acknowledgements The Southern Education Foundation would like to thank the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Texas Guarantee (TG) for their generous support for the “MSI Consortium for Innovation and Change: Developmental Education Initiative.” We would also like to thank the five Minority-Serving Institutions that participated, California State University San Bernardino, Claflin University, Morgan State University, Texas Southmost College, and the University of the Incarnate Word.We appreciate your willingness to share your time, resources, and experiences, without which this initiative would not have been possible. Suggestion Citation for this Report Jones,T., & Assalone, A. (2016). Not Just Faster: Equity and Learning Centered Developmental Education Strategies. Atlanta, GA: Southern Education Foundation. © 2016 Southern Education Foundation, Inc.,Atlanta, Georgia All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Portions of this work may be reproduced without permission, provided that acknowledgement is fully given to the Southern Education Foundation. Limited permission is also granted for larger portions to be reproduced by nonprofit and public agencies and institutions only, solely for non-commercial purposes so long as full acknowledgement to the Southern Education Foundation as the source is prominently given. Reproduction or storage in any electronic form for any commercial purpose is prohibited without the express written permission of the Southern Education Foundation. 5 SOUTHERN EDUCATION FOUNDATION MSI Consortium for Innovation and Change Developmental Education Report Executive Summary The Southern Education Foundation’s Minority-Serving Institution (MSI) Consortium for Innovation and Change was instituted in 2011 to advance creative and promising initiatives that enhance institutional practice and student outcomes. In keeping with the SEF mission, these innovations specifically address educational barriers that disproportionately affect the degree seeking low-income and student of color populations operating under the purview of higher education. Our commitment to giving good ideas a fair test leads this work in hopes of identifying a set of best practices that may be cultivated within the education community as a comprehensive set of interventions to best serve those who inspire our work and need it most. With such a vision in mind, this project was devised to target the persistent problem that developmental education (DE) poses for many, as both an impediment to degree attainment as well as an issue that disproportionately impacts low-income students and students of color. SEF engaged five Minority-Serving Institutions along with the Technical Review and Support Team (TRST) to launch an eclectic set of DE innovations.These five campuses represented both twoyear and four-year, and public and private colleges and universities across the southeastern and southwestern United States. Additionally, the campuses included Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and His

FAQs

What problem does the MSI Consortium address in developmental education?

It targets the persistent barriers developmental education creates for degree attainment, with disproportionate impact on low-income students and students of color.

What types of DE interventions were implemented by the participating institutions?

The participating MSIs used models that either accelerated or eliminated the semester-long DE course for first-year students, or focused on curricular redesign and faculty development.

How did the initiative evaluate its interventions?

It used rigorous evaluation processes, including experimental and quasi-experimental research methods, to assess program outcomes.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Quinn Holloway