Post by title1parent on Mar 31, 2010 7:17:10 GMT -5
www.suburbanchicagonews.com/beaconnews/news/2132360,2_1_AU31_WCC_S1-100331.article
State funding cuts hit programs at Waubonsee CC
No new students to be accepted for college's ESL, GED programs
March 31, 2010
By PAUL DAILING pdailing@stmedianetwork.com
Derrick Pryor believes the GED classes he took at Waubonsee Community College gave him a chance to be more than a high school dropout and teen father.
"It opened up a door to being a better person, someone who can be looked up to by my kids," the 22-year-old Pryor said Tuesday.
Pryor will soon graduate from Waubonsee with his associate's degree. He plans to transfer to a four-year university to finish a bachelor's in business or communications.
But the program Pryor said gave him a chance is in trouble.
Fewer classes, no new admissions, teacher furloughs and reduced hours for part-time instructors are the future of WCC's adult education programs, thanks to the state budget crisis.
The college's English as a Second Language, Adult Basic Education and General Educational Development high school equivalency classes cost about $1.5 million, about $1 million of which comes from state grants. The rest is from a combination of federal grants and some college pay-in.
But Springfield, roiling from a multi-billion-dollar deficit, hasn't been paying the bills. It's 40 percent behind in owed payments to Waubonsee's programs, college spokesman Jeff Noblitt said.
"This program has been impacted particularly adversely, given the reliance on state funding. The college is in many ways fortunate in that we have had growth in our credit, tuition-generating program," Noblitt said.
By state law, the community college cannot charge tuition for the ostensibly state-funded adult education classes.
While general classes continue to grow and work proceeds on a larger downtown Aurora campus, the semester that just ended saw 26 percent fewer ESL students than the same semester last year, a drop from 1,900 to 1,400. There were 48 ESL classes in the last semester, compared to 75 in the same semester last year.
There were 622 GED students during that time. There no comparable number from last year, because the college -- separate from the state budget crisis -- had already changed how the entire GED program is run. Now, all classes start and stop at the same time rather than having rolling enrollment throughout the semester.
No new students will be admitted to the ESL or GED programs, Noblitt said. But existing adult education students can continue their studies.
Each of the six full-time adult education staff will be forced to take 15 unpaid furlough days a year. The four part-time staffers will be forced to reduce their work by 10 hours per week.
Adult-education instructors are hired back every semester, so there have not been any layoffs, Noblitt said. But fewer teachers will be asked back. This last semester had 87 instructors, a number that would usually be about 120.
The college has been forced to rely more on its volunteers, who work with students one-on-one in all the adult classes.
"Right now, the classes are very large because we've had to cut back on teachers, so the volunteers are even more needed," Adult Literacy Manager Sherry Woodward said.
Unfortunately, the volunteer program is also waiting for owed state funds
State funding cuts hit programs at Waubonsee CC
No new students to be accepted for college's ESL, GED programs
March 31, 2010
By PAUL DAILING pdailing@stmedianetwork.com
Derrick Pryor believes the GED classes he took at Waubonsee Community College gave him a chance to be more than a high school dropout and teen father.
"It opened up a door to being a better person, someone who can be looked up to by my kids," the 22-year-old Pryor said Tuesday.
Pryor will soon graduate from Waubonsee with his associate's degree. He plans to transfer to a four-year university to finish a bachelor's in business or communications.
But the program Pryor said gave him a chance is in trouble.
Fewer classes, no new admissions, teacher furloughs and reduced hours for part-time instructors are the future of WCC's adult education programs, thanks to the state budget crisis.
The college's English as a Second Language, Adult Basic Education and General Educational Development high school equivalency classes cost about $1.5 million, about $1 million of which comes from state grants. The rest is from a combination of federal grants and some college pay-in.
But Springfield, roiling from a multi-billion-dollar deficit, hasn't been paying the bills. It's 40 percent behind in owed payments to Waubonsee's programs, college spokesman Jeff Noblitt said.
"This program has been impacted particularly adversely, given the reliance on state funding. The college is in many ways fortunate in that we have had growth in our credit, tuition-generating program," Noblitt said.
By state law, the community college cannot charge tuition for the ostensibly state-funded adult education classes.
While general classes continue to grow and work proceeds on a larger downtown Aurora campus, the semester that just ended saw 26 percent fewer ESL students than the same semester last year, a drop from 1,900 to 1,400. There were 48 ESL classes in the last semester, compared to 75 in the same semester last year.
There were 622 GED students during that time. There no comparable number from last year, because the college -- separate from the state budget crisis -- had already changed how the entire GED program is run. Now, all classes start and stop at the same time rather than having rolling enrollment throughout the semester.
No new students will be admitted to the ESL or GED programs, Noblitt said. But existing adult education students can continue their studies.
Each of the six full-time adult education staff will be forced to take 15 unpaid furlough days a year. The four part-time staffers will be forced to reduce their work by 10 hours per week.
Adult-education instructors are hired back every semester, so there have not been any layoffs, Noblitt said. But fewer teachers will be asked back. This last semester had 87 instructors, a number that would usually be about 120.
The college has been forced to rely more on its volunteers, who work with students one-on-one in all the adult classes.
"Right now, the classes are very large because we've had to cut back on teachers, so the volunteers are even more needed," Adult Literacy Manager Sherry Woodward said.
Unfortunately, the volunteer program is also waiting for owed state funds