If students are not going to come out of Nevada high schools prepared for college, Nevada colleges are going to high school campuses to get them ready.

Last fall, about 40 percent of Nevada high school graduates attending state colleges and universities required remedial education -- high-school level courses in English and math -- at a cost to the state of $3.6 million.

The Community College of Southern Nevada and the Clark County School District are preparing a pilot program that would allow some high school seniors to take remedial and 100-level college courses at seven high school campuses starting in January.

"We would have more students going to college and fewer students needing remedial education when they go to college," said Richard Carpenter, CCSN president.

The school district has not solidified which schools will offer the program or how many students will be able to attend. But three classes will be offered, including a remedial math course on intermediate algebra and two college-level courses, an introduction to college composition and the fundamentals of college mathematics.

High school instructors with master's degrees will teach the remedial courses. Carpenter said faculty from either Nevada State College or the community college probably will teach the college-level courses.

The goal is to get students prepared for and comfortable with college, said Jane Kadoich, director of curriculum and professional development for the school district.

"We're trying to see what will be attractive to students. We're thrilled to offer college courses," she said.

The Board of Regents on Thursday approved a measure to allow colleges to offer remedial education at a reduced price of $25 per course, compared to the community college's going rate of $157.50 per three-credit course.

The community college offers online classes to high school students at the reduced price, but Jane Nichols, vice chancellor for student affairs, said many students aren't ready for distance education.

"They sign up for them and they're not prepared," she said. "But then more and more we find high schools are open to our coming onto their campuses and offering remedial or 100-level courses that students can enroll in and be successful."

Using a college to offer remedial courses on high school campuses is a duplication of resources, but Carpenter and Kadoich said the college and school district won't lose money on the program. They hope to expand the pilot throughout the district, which could increase students' college retention and participation rates at the college level, Carpenter said.

"They will start out equal to everybody else," Chancellor Jim Rogers said. "I don't think it's a waste of money. In fact, I really believe in that program."

Clark County School District Superintendent Walt Rulffes said he hopes to offer an optional exam to juniors that will assess how they will perform on college entrance exams.

Scores from those exams are used at the college level to determine whether students will need to repeat the high school-level math and English courses once they are admitted.

The test will help alert juniors to subjects they might need to focus on before college, Rulffes said. They can then take the college courses at their high schools during their senior year, which normally offers students an opportunity for a lighter credit load.

They'll receive college and high school credit for the classes.

Gary Waters, a member of the State Board of Education, called the project innovative, but said it shouldn't be viewed as a solution.

"I think we need to try innovative and new approaches," he said. "But the goal ought to be to reduce the number of kids who need to be remediated at all."

Regents are also considering a proposal to require students to complete all their remedial education before they finish 30 credits of college-level courses, starting in fall 2007.

A third of students needing remedial education need to take both math and English classes, but the majority need to take only one course, Nichols said. Unfortunately, she said, most students put it off. Some wait until their senior year to do the rudimentary courses that are supposed to help them succeed throughout their college career, she said.

"Those are basic skills they need to complete all the other courses," she said. "We haven't had a policy that says to them, 'Look, this is really important.'"