A great Plan!
Tuition aid proposal floated
Community college students would need good grades and to meet income restrictions.
By Albert Raboteau
381-1663
Most of the state's community college students who transfer to four-year schools don't bother to complete an associate degree, but they may soon have a financial reason to do so.
Virginia lawmakers are considering a proposal to allow community college students who graduate with good grades and meet income restrictions to pay community college tuition rates for almost three years of full-time study at a public four-year school within the state.
Students who transfer to a private, in-state school would get the difference between community college tuition and the average public four-year tuition. Virginia community colleges charge no more than half the average tuition at the state's four-year schools.
Proponents say the Community College Transfer Grant would make college more accessible and help the state deal with an expected 21 percent to 25 percent increase in college enrollment by 2012.
It comes as the number of students entering community colleges with an eye toward transferring for a higher degree is increasing. Higher education officials are looking to make that process smoother.
Glen DuBois, chancellor of the Virginia Community College System, said the transfer grant would be the first program of its type in the nation.
He predicted the measure "will create an environment where more Virginia families will go to colleges, which is terribly important."
On Wednesday the legislation was still in committee in Richmond. Supporters say they like its chances because the Senate version is sponsored by majority leader Walter Stosch, R-Henrico County, and the House version by Vince Callahan, R-Fairfax County, who chairs the appropriations committee. Neither sponsor could be reached Wednesday.
The measure, which would require a budget amendment, is projected to cost $3.8 million this fiscal year, increasing to $13.9 million in fiscal 2012. Those projections assume 1,754 students would take advantage in 2007-08, increasing to 4,009 students in 2012-13.
To qualify for the program, students would have to finish their associate degree with at least a 3.0 grade-point average, apply for financial aid, and have a family income of no more than 150 percent of the state median.
"Affluent families would be ineligible, but we're targeting more than just those that are on the lower tier of the socioeconomic ladders," said DuBois, the community college chancellor.
Community college officials, students, and the political organization Virginia 21, which focuses on young voters, have been pushing for the bill.
"We need to get more people into higher education who can't afford it," said Adam Sowder, student vice president at Virginia Western Community College. "A lot of people think they can't go on to any more school because they don't have the money."
James Jacobs, associate director of the Community College Research Center at Columbia University's Teachers College, said the bill sounded well-meaning but because of its requirement that students get a 3.0 GPA, might not address a larger problem of people entering college but failing to complete any degree.
"My suspicion is the real problem isn't the kids who are very smart, who are going on to [four-year] college anyway," he said.
DuBois disagreed with that criticism.
"I think it rewards effort and performance" and will create "an incentive for our students to step it up and reach harder," he said.
Less than one-third of Virginia community college students who transferred to a four-year school in the state last year had completed an associate degree.
Community college students would need good grades and to meet income restrictions.
By Albert Raboteau
381-1663
Most of the state's community college students who transfer to four-year schools don't bother to complete an associate degree, but they may soon have a financial reason to do so.
Virginia lawmakers are considering a proposal to allow community college students who graduate with good grades and meet income restrictions to pay community college tuition rates for almost three years of full-time study at a public four-year school within the state.
Students who transfer to a private, in-state school would get the difference between community college tuition and the average public four-year tuition. Virginia community colleges charge no more than half the average tuition at the state's four-year schools.
Proponents say the Community College Transfer Grant would make college more accessible and help the state deal with an expected 21 percent to 25 percent increase in college enrollment by 2012.
It comes as the number of students entering community colleges with an eye toward transferring for a higher degree is increasing. Higher education officials are looking to make that process smoother.
Glen DuBois, chancellor of the Virginia Community College System, said the transfer grant would be the first program of its type in the nation.
He predicted the measure "will create an environment where more Virginia families will go to colleges, which is terribly important."
On Wednesday the legislation was still in committee in Richmond. Supporters say they like its chances because the Senate version is sponsored by majority leader Walter Stosch, R-Henrico County, and the House version by Vince Callahan, R-Fairfax County, who chairs the appropriations committee. Neither sponsor could be reached Wednesday.
The measure, which would require a budget amendment, is projected to cost $3.8 million this fiscal year, increasing to $13.9 million in fiscal 2012. Those projections assume 1,754 students would take advantage in 2007-08, increasing to 4,009 students in 2012-13.
To qualify for the program, students would have to finish their associate degree with at least a 3.0 grade-point average, apply for financial aid, and have a family income of no more than 150 percent of the state median.
"Affluent families would be ineligible, but we're targeting more than just those that are on the lower tier of the socioeconomic ladders," said DuBois, the community college chancellor.
Community college officials, students, and the political organization Virginia 21, which focuses on young voters, have been pushing for the bill.
"We need to get more people into higher education who can't afford it," said Adam Sowder, student vice president at Virginia Western Community College. "A lot of people think they can't go on to any more school because they don't have the money."
James Jacobs, associate director of the Community College Research Center at Columbia University's Teachers College, said the bill sounded well-meaning but because of its requirement that students get a 3.0 GPA, might not address a larger problem of people entering college but failing to complete any degree.
"My suspicion is the real problem isn't the kids who are very smart, who are going on to [four-year] college anyway," he said.
DuBois disagreed with that criticism.
"I think it rewards effort and performance" and will create "an incentive for our students to step it up and reach harder," he said.
Less than one-third of Virginia community college students who transferred to a four-year school in the state last year had completed an associate degree.
posted by Joe | 6:37 AM
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