High-Schoolers Getting A Jump-Start On College Running Start Enrollment Triples, But Program Has Its Critics, Too

Running Start, a program that gives promising high school students access to community college classes, has tripled its enrollment in just four years.

When it went statewide in the 1992-93 school year, the program attracted 3,350 students with its promise of higher education credits.

By June 1997, there were 10,250.

Some critics say high school students are too immature, too giggly for college. But the program has been a boon for serious students.

“I didn’t like the busywork, the mundaneness” of high school, said Keridwyn Deller, 17, an Issaquah High School senior who attends Bellevue Community College full time.

“High school is a lot of baby-sitting. Here, you have to be responsible,” she said as she waited for her class in U.S. history to begin, part of her 17-credit load for the fall term.

Besides its social and cultural aspects, Running Start pays off in cold cash.

By starting early, Deller said, she will save a full year of college. That could mean a savings of $20,000 at Whitman College in Walla Walla, the private school she wants to attend in the fall.

Savings also are achieved on the state level. The state Board of Community and Technical Colleges estimates the state saved $14.1 million through the program in 1995-96, the latest year for which figures are available. That’s because the state pays once, but students get dual credits for high school and college.

The board also estimates that parents and Running Start students saved $6.6 million on community college classes in 1995-96. Students pay only for books and transportation.

If there is a loser, it might be the high schools.

High schools in Washington annually receive about $3,500 per student from the state. If a student enrolls in a community college, that college gets some of that money - up to $3,255 in the case of a full-time enrollee.

“That may become a problem in the future as it grows and grows,” said Ernestine Thomas, a counselor at Garfield High School in Seattle.

There also is a concern that Running Start attracts the best students, which could pose problems for high school honors and advanced-placement programs.

Carole Gibson, a counselor at Hudson’s Bay High School in Vancouver, Wash., said her school has not been able to offer advanced-placement classes because so few students sign up - in part because of the attraction of attending nearby Clark College through Running Start.

Under Running Start, any student enrolled in a public high school may enroll in a community college after passing a placement test.

While students generally are required to have basic math and English skills, some teachers question the preparedness of Running Start students.

One study showed 41 percent of Running Start students in the Seattle School District had to take remedial math classes, said Dan Loos, president of the Seattle Community College teachers union.

“Wouldn’t it be better for them to do that in high school?” he asked.

Michael Kischner, an English instructor at North Seattle Community College, contends Running Start students are too young to be thrust into a college environment. When young students aren’t ready to learn, older students must put up with disruptive behavior.

But Linda Calvert, director of admissions at Clark College, said teachers generally aren’t qualified to judge.

By law, Running Start students are treated the same as any other community college student and are not identified as high school students, she said. Early concerns about the maturity and behavior of 16- and 17-year-olds proved to be unfounded, Calvert said.

Critics say the program must be more selective, accepting only those students mature enough to handle college.

All agree some small changes would improve the program. For example, critics and supporters say funding formulas should be changed so high schools can do a better job of counseling students on Running Start and won’t lose money when students leave early for college.