Daley wants to end city college open admissions

Chicago Mayor Richard Daley says he wants to end the "open-door" admissions policy at Chicago City Colleges, saying the system can't afford the $30 million price tag for remedial classes.

Daley said Tuesday if the city college system is to be a quality program, it has to evaluate if someone with an 8th-grade reading level should be enrolled.

In floating the idea of closing the open-door admissions policy, Daley is backing newly-appointed City Colleges Board Chairman Gery Chico, who made similar remarks last week.

Chico and new Chancellor Cheryl Hyman say students needing remedial classes might be better and more inexpensively served through programs run by alternative high schools.

The $30 million spent on remedial courses represents six percent of the system's $457.5 million budget.