Nine out of ten students entering City Colleges of Chicago require some remedial education. Studies show that the faster and more successfully they complete pre-credit courses, the better the chance they’ll persist in college and earn a degree of economic value. This summer, City Colleges is offering Level UP, a free quick-start summer program designed to ensure first-year, college-bound students are prepared to take on the challenge and rigor of college level work.

Level UP began June 27th at three CCC colleges with a total class of more than 100 students. CCC worked closely with the Chicago Public Schools to attract students.
Students entered the program by first taking the traditional City Colleges COMPASS placement exam. Over the next month, they will hone their reading, writing and/or math skills through intensive small class instruction and tutoring in math and writing with self-paced on-line learning modules.

Students will retake the COMPASS test prior to the beginning of fall classes. Their final college placement is based on the new scores and evaluation of completed classroom work. Level UP was developed by the CCC Reinvention Remediation Taskforce in an effort to increase the number of incoming students who are academically prepared for credit courses. “City Colleges provides open enrollment to all students and Level UP will help those students achieve their academic goals in a timely and cost efficient manner,” said Alicia Rankin, Reinvention Remediation Taskforce Manager. “We hope this program enables more students to spend their time and money on college courses that satisfy certificate or associate degree requirements,” continued Rankin.