Students who wish to enroll in courses that require college-level reading, writing, and/or math skills must take assessment tests in reading, writing, and/or mathematics. For students who do not demonstrate college readiness on the assessment tests, many levels of reading, writing, integrated reading and writing, mathematics, and human development courses are offered to enable students to complete required skills for college-level courses and to satisfy Texas Success Initiative (TSI) requirements.

Developmental education courses provide students with the skills and confidence necessary to succeed in college-level courses and are listed in the catalog as DREA for developmental reading, DWRI for developmental writing, DIRW for developmenatal integrated reading and writing, DMAT for developmental math, HDEV 0092 for student success, and NCBO for non-course based option. Developmental courses are numbered 0400 and below. These courses carry institutional credit but do not count toward a degree or certificate.

After completing a Pre-Assessment Activity, students will be referred for assessment testing by an academic advisor and should work closely with the advisor to develop a plan to complete required developmental education courses as soon as possible. Instructional formats vary and may include computer-based, self-paced, lecture, learning communities, and on-line offerings. Many services such as tutoring, mentoring, coaching, counseling, study skills seminars and the Math Lab and Writing Center are also provided to enable students enrolled in developmental education courses to meet college readiness standards. Students who wish to improve skills in reading, writing, and math may also enroll in developmental courses even if not required to do so because of low test scores.

The State of Texas financially subsidizes the education of college students, therefore, the tuition paid by any student represents only a portion of the real costs of any developmental education course. As the State of Texas will pay for only 27 hours of attempted developmental studies courses, students could be required to pay a higher rate of tuition for any developmental hours beyond the 27 hour limit.

Note: Students receiving Federal Financial Aid benefits may still use those benefits to pay the higher tuition rate for up to a maximum of 30 semester hours.