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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR Campos

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

01/28/08

HB

SHORT TITLE Luna College High School Preparatory Program

SB 284

ANALYST Escudero

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY08

FY09

$85.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Public Education Department (PED)

Higher Education Department (HED)

Luna Community College (LCC)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 284 appropriates $85.0 from the general fund to the Higher Education Department

(HED) to fund a summer “crossroads academy;" that is, a developmental and remedial college

preparatory program for high school students for expenditure in fiscal year 2009 at Luna

Community College (LCC).

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $85.0 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general fund. Any

unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2009 shall revert to the

general fund.

This request was not submitted by Luna Community College to the New Mexico Higher

Education Department for review and is not included in the departments funding

recommendation for FY09.

Senate Bill 284 – Page

2

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

According to HED, Senate Bill 284 is a response to the high percentage of high school students

needing remedial coursework upon entering LCC. According to Dr. Mary Ward, Interim

Assistant to the President, a pilot project conducted last summer demonstrated that students

improved basic skills through summer coursework and showed significant increases in college

placement scores compared to students who did not participate in the summer coursework.

Veronica Serna, Director of the Access Department at LCC, attributes program success to the

college instructional environment experienced by high school sophomores in the crossroads

program. High school students are transported to the college to undertake rigorous eight-week

courses with tutorial assistance. They study in the same classes as regular college students.

The crossroads program addresses the needs of some high school students who fall through the

cracks. Many of these students go on to enroll in dual credit courses.

In coordination with the Public Education Department, NMHED is actively pursuing statewide

solutions to the high percentage of entering college freshman needing remedial coursework. Task

forces have worked diligently over the past two years formulating agreements around alignment

leading toward dual credit that will help resolve this problem over time. The proposed college

readiness assessment test will determine the level of remediation a students needs while in high

school. The Cyber Academy will provide options for students

•

NMHED recommends further examination of alignment issues between LCC and the

local public schools. The School Transportation Bureau at NMPED allows support of the

transportation costs of public school students on site or at LCC during the summer if

included in the school budget.

•

NMHED supports a more systemic approach through existing and future mechanisms to

issues related to under-preparedness of high school students entering college. NMHED

recommends closer collaboration between institutions of higher education and public

schools and plans to create a Developmental Education Task Force to help move the

effort forward.

As stated by PED, High school juniors and seniors who attend schools within the Luna

Community College service area are able to enroll in dual credit courses at the college campus

during the regular school year. To enroll in dual credit courses for credit students must meet the

minimum entrance requirements of the college.

•

SB 284 will provide funding for an extra help summer program for sophomores who are

interested in pursuing the dual credit option during their high school junior year, but who

are unable to meet the minimum college placement requirements. This past summer 40

students took advantage of this extra help. After taking the summer classes, 62% of the

students showed an improvement in their scores of ten points or more enabling them to

meet the dual credit entry requirements. Schools within the LCC service area have

requested 72 seats for the coming summer.

•

This bill supports the implementation of the dual credit program at Luna Community

College; therefore, it could have a positive impact in that the percent of recent New

Mexico high school graduates who must enroll in remedial courses in higher educational

two-year and four-year schools may decrease.

PME/mt