Our mission
The mission of the developmental education program is to provide engaging learning opportunities to enable students to enhance academic and life skills, to succeed in developmental coursework, to excel in subsequent college-level courses, and to become lifelong learners.
NADE Certification
The Developmental Education faculty and staff have embarked on a project to achieve National Association for Developmental Education (NADE) certification. Details of this undertaking can be found at our certification project page.
Courses
Developmental courses are designed to develop students' skills to ensure success in subsequent courses. High quality instruction, small class sizes, and out-of-class support are hallmarks of the Developmental Education program. Courses taught include:
- COLS 100: Effective Academic Practices
- COLS 101 US: First Year Seminar
- WRIT 080: Building Basic Writing Skills
- WRIT 095: Developmental Writing
- M 065: Pre-Algebra
- M 096: Survey of Algebra
Resources for Students
The Academic Development Center (ADC) is located in 102 Hamilton Hall on the MSU campus. The ADC offers:
- Free tutoring for Math and Writing
- Computer lab with software required for Math, Writing, and College Studies courses
- Study space for individual or group study
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about developmental/0-level courses
- What is a Developmental Course?
Developmental courses are designed to improve a student's mastery of certain skills necessary to be successful at the college level. Developmental courses will refresh or build skills in math or writing. - Do developmental (zero-level) courses count towards full-time status?
Zero-level courses count towards students' credit status for financial aid, residence hall requirements, insurance benefits, and intercollegiate sports qualification. - Do developmental (zero-level) courses count in my GPA?
Yes, graded zero-level courses are calculated into a student's GPA.
- Do zero-level courses count towards graduation?
No, developmental courses are not included in a student's 'Earned Hours' toward graduation (MSU students need 120 'earned hours' for graduation). Developmental courses do, however, count toward the calculation of a semester's course load and successful completion means students have met the prerequisite for the subsequent Math or Writing course.
