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Who Benefits?

February 14, 2012, 2:24 pm

By Julie White

Although changes in student financial-aid policies for the federal 2012 fiscal-year budget have been widely reported, one change has gone largely unnoticed: the requirement that new students must have a high-school diploma, GED, or completed home schooling in order to receive federal aid. Currently, students without such a credential must take an “ability-to-benefit” (ATB) test to determine if they are ready for college-level work.

If they pass the ATB test, they are eligible for federal student financial aid, including loans and grants. According to a recent article in The Community College Times, about 1 percent of community-college students, or 100,000, are ATB students. In many states, once those students earn a predetermined number of college credits, they are eligible to receive their GED. Meanwhile, they have earned credit towards a college degree and can continue seamlessly through their college requirements.

I have met a few of these 100,000 students. Their stories are varied, but here’s a snapshot. James was laid off from his manufacturing job, having made a decent income despite his lack of a high-school diploma; now he needs re-training. Leon became addicted to drugs at an early age, served some time in prison, and came back to his community hoping to improve himself and his earning potential. Mary had been in an abusive relationship, finally got out, and was earning her human-services degree to help others struggling with abuse. Yvonne and her family moved from Puerto Rico before she completed high school; she had come to the community college to complete her education.

With such students no longer eligible for aid starting July 1, 2012, where will they turn? Perhaps to GED programs, although many of those are not associated with college credit, so the potential connection to postsecondary education would be lost. With a new GED test under development for 2014, uncertainty remains about the availability of test-preparation centers and the type of preparation that will be required.

Also uncertain is the impact on community-college funding, particularly in light of calls for increased retention and completion rates. The current policy environment has been described by Christopher M. Mullin in an American Association of Community Colleges brief as “a silent movement to redirect educational opportunity to ‘deserving’ students.” As the definition of “deserving” becomes more and more narrow, we must ask ourselves as a society: What will happen to those deemed “undeserving”? And just as important: What will be the effects on our society as a whole?

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  • wolf359

    The author doesn’t state why the fed. gov’t seeks to cut off aid to the ATB students. Surely there’s a good reason (?). Perhaps data show that students who pass the ATB test don’t tend to finish their degrees….?

  • juliewhite

    I would direct you to the AACC brief cited (and linked) in my piece for more discussion of this issue, and what is happening around access in general. It’s likely true that retention rates are lower for this group, but is that a reason to cut off access? How about implementing policy levers to improve retention? 

    As to why, the stated reason that I’ve read in the media is that cuts in some areas were necessary to maintain Pell at its stated maximum. But I believe it’s important to consider that these students tend to be lower-income with less access to political power, so cuts in this area have been virtually invisible in the media coverage.  And of course there are other areas in the federal budget where funds could be found, if there were the political will.

  • 11223140

    The feds are trying to save Pell dollars wherever they can, cutting out the ATB students is one part of a larger effort with several prongs, including the pending loss of Direct Loan interest subsidy for graduate students starting July 1.  That having been said, I agree with Julie White that this is a vulnerable population, and if one takes a macro look at national budget priorities, other sources could be tapped to keep the ABT students engaged with Title IV aid.  But, these students would need a loud advocate on the Hill, and there is no evidence I’ve seen that it will happen any time soon.

  • yellow1

    I work at a two year college that stopped accepting ATB students several years ago. We ran into issues when these students were earning credit, particularly program and core credit, but they still had not completed GEDs (which my college offers). Since we offer GED and Adult Ed/Literacy, I feel two year colleges, like mine, have a pathway for these students. I can understand the feelings of some two year schools to have admissions standards requiring completed GED or high school diploma.

  • juliewhite

    It’s great that your college offers that pathway.  My concern is that many do not, at least not in the capacity that may be needed to serve these students.  Perhaps that will change, but I’m skeptical given the current policy and funding environment.  I would love to be wrong about that!

  • yellow1

    I worry about this as well, especially since several 2 year schools in my same system/state do not have their own GED/Adult Ed programs. Those are typically ran through the local county, so students who aren’t officially students yet have to rely on resources in the colleges’ service areas. It’s tricky. I think we do a good job with Adult Ed/GED, honestly, at my college since our incentive for their passing is their ability to enroll. It’s built in retention.

    Like you, I am skeptical. I also think this may be a back door change to save money, obviously, but I think it’s also a roundabout way of keeping some students in HS.

  • mrichbe1

    Once again, this is just a move by the Republican Party to add to the ranks of the disenfranchised. When will we ever learn that the Repbulican Party has never done anything for the working class since Abraham lincoln. He said unequivically that if he could keep slavery and save the union then he would do so. We as working people better wake up!

  • mrichbe1

    All that would be necessary is for the granting institution to put in place requirements that a student could only progress so far without completing his/her GED. Then the process could resume, but don’t block them out just to reserve funding for those who have already completed.

  • juliewhite

    Interesting idea. Or, financial aid policy could put those requirements into place, so that it wouldn’t vary by institution.  I’d have to think more about the pros and cons, but I certainly think both ideas are something to explore!

  • juliewhite

    I would like to point out, however, that I don’t see anyone from the Democratic side speaking out about this either…

  • juliewhite

    You know, I’ve seen other people write that this is about keeping students in high school.  My on-the-job experience indicates that many of the ATB students are returning adults, well beyond the age of high school.  BUT I don’t know what the data indicates, or if data is even available on that.    I will have to explore that more.

  • yellow1

    Yeah, but once you admit a student, it’s really hard to stop any good progress. I sort of like our situation at my college where ATB students are run through GED/Adult Ed programs.

  • yellow1

    Unfortunately, we have to constantly remind our legislators (not all, but plenty) that the average two year college student at our institution is about 26-28. This makes it tricky to worry too much at this point about if/when they dropped out of high school! Sadly, too many legislators think all college students, or at least 90% of those students, are 18-22 years old.

  • juliewhite

    Good point!

  • davehamilton

    This was an area that was really abused by some for-profits.  Many recognized this and have stopped admitting under ATB.  Students who clearly were not able to succeed amassed large student debt with little progress toward either a GED or any college credit.  There was no remedial education offered.  They used TOFFL scores with added “bonus points” to qualify almost anyone for a student loan under ATB and shifted students between programs when they failed to keep them registered.

  • http://www.facebook.com/csccged Jamie Smith

    The issue at heart is student success rates for the ATB demographic: they are abysmally low. My suspicion is that ending ATB is a protective measure to prevent student aid fraud and preserve scarce funds for students who are college-ready and have put in the time and effort to earn a credential that proves it.

  • lynettejensen

    I fail to see how this is a Republican Party policy issue.  Is this not a change made under a Democratic administration?  Trying to play this down party lines is a diversion – let’s stick to the issue, look for a unified solution, and avoid the finger-pointing.

  • juliewhite

    Yes, but not all institutions abused it, and those ATB students are still left without many other options.

  • juliewhite

    Do you have any sources regarding success rates for the ATB demographic?  I have been searching high and low to no avail.  One college president told me that when he compared them to the rest of the population at his community college, the rates were fairly similar.

    I do understand the concern about success, fraud, and so on, but are we obligated to provide some pathway to postsecondary education for students like I described above?  Or if not obligated, wouldn’t it be in our country’s best interest, since postsecondary schooling is associated with higher levels of income and economic self-sufficiency?

  • renellin

    I’ll never understand why access is spoken as if it is equal or equivalent to free. There is a growing number of people who feel if the government doesn’t pay for it, it is inaccessible. Thousands of people went to night school before the Feds started picking up the tab. The middle class has always been expected to pay for everything we’ve done. If you want the education, go for it anyway. Find a way and do it.

  • renellin

    Where did the Republican Party come from? I didn’t read anything about those pesky republicans in the article. Does the Republican Party run Obama’s administration? Why are people always throwing their own private political hate fests into otherwise ordinary intelligent discussions?

  • juliewhite

    The labor market has changed dramatically since the days “before the Feds started picking up the tab.”  Most of the people in this ATB population that I have met are working, but since it is harder than ever to find a decent-paying job without at least a high school diploma (preferably some post-secondary education or training), their wages are just enough to pay the bills, leaving little extra for tuition.

  • teprusa

    One of the issues not mentioned here are immigrants who perhaps graduated from high school in other countries, but are not able to access their high school degrees due to the time elapsed and/or the political insecurity of the country, or simply the fact that the college might not accept their high school degree. I realize that there are those who may think immigrants shouldn’t be receiving this aid, but many of these people have worked here legally for 20+ years, but have recently been laid off. I also work with refugees many of whom worked for our side in areas where we have been involved in military conflicts. Without financial aid, it will be very difficult for them to make new lives for themselves and support their families which is what they want to do more than anything.

  • teprusa

    TOEFL scores are required of international visa students, none of whom are eligible for federal financial aid.

  • juliewhite

    Yes, that is an excellent point.  We have some immigrants in our area, but fewer than many parts of the country,so I’m less personally familiar with this population.  Thank you for adding to the discussion!

  • bevo98

    What rich legacy he leaves not just of writing but, as this author recognizes, of being an important figure in Mexico and the world.  We need more public intellectuals.

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