Aid For Students In Remedial Classes Under Scrutiny Community College Students At Risk; House Higher Ed Panel Chairman Argues Those Under 24 Should Know The Material From High School

Hundreds of students enrolled in remedial classes at Spokane and Spokane Falls community colleges could lose their state financial aid under a lawmaker’s proposal.

House Bill 1851, submitted by Rep. Don Carlson, R-Vancouver, would expand the state’s student financial aid program by $43 million. But students under the age of 24 could not apply remedial course credits toward the minimum credit required for state financial aid.

Remedial classes are designed to prepare students for college-level courses. Carlson argues they shouldn’t be necessary for students who have recently left high school.

“We need to send a clear message to students coming out of the high school system that they need to be responsible for their own academic pursuit,” Carlson said. “We’re serious about the fact we don’t have an unlimited amount of financial aid dollars.”

Educators in Spokane say the bill could push out hundreds of students taking preparatory courses in area community colleges. Last fall, a total of 639 students under the age of 24 took remedial courses while receiving state financial aid at the two Spokane schools.

Cheyene Smith was one of them. A 20-year-old single mother, Smith is taking some remedial courses at SCC in hopes of beginning a career in business. To pay for day care, she works 28 hours per week on top of her studies.

Smith said she wouldn’t be able to afford school without the financial aid.

“I would never make more than seven or eight dollars an hour without school,” she said. “I would always stay stuck.”

Carlson argues students could simply take more college-level courses, on top of their remedial classes, to earn their financial aid.

“For me, that’s not a realistic option,” Smith said. “Most of these people we’re talking about, they work, they’re parents, and they go to school.”

Many students enrolled in preparatory courses wouldn’t be prepared to handle the extra workload, said Ellen Hoffman, manager of institutional research and information services for Community Colleges of Spokane.

“The people who need extra assistance are the ones who don’t want to overload,” Hoffman said.

In some cases, it could be difficult for students to find enough college-level courses they could get into. Administrators fear the bill would only delay some students’ entrance into college.

“What I fear is these young people who really need this opportunity to go to college won’t be able to afford it until they’re (24),” said Bob Branch, an SCC math instructor.

More than half of the math courses offered at the school are at the remedial level, Branch said.

The bill was discussed at a Friday hearing of the House Higher Education Committee, which Carlson heads. Lawmakers heard testimony from students who said they would be in dire straits without state financial aid.

“If I wasn’t able to be eligible for financial aid, I’d still be sitting around wondering how I could care for my kids,” said 23-year-old Aretha Forks, a single mother and student at South Puget Sound Community College.

Forks blamed her high school educators for not preparing her for college-level courses. The argument drew sympathy from the panel, including Rep. Patty Butler, D-Seattle, who suggested the K-12 system pay for the financial aid for needy students taking remedial courses.

“I really wonder how we’re doing in the K-12 system and what the (high school) diploma is supposed to mean,” Carlson said.

SCC instructor Mary Lou Hammond told lawmakers there is a gap between what students learn in high school and what they need to know for college-level courses. She said the preparatory classes build confidence in students and fill the knowledge gap.

Discussion of the bill will conclude when the committee meets Tuesday.

, DataTimes