Throughout that time, full-time corresponding enrollment, consisting of students who took twelve credit hours per semester, saw a fourteen percent increase, as compared with a nine percent increase in total enrollment at other institutions. In the summers of these years, full-time enrollment (FTE) grew by fifteen percent, while total enrollment saw a ten percent increase. Researchers have concluded that extended Pell grants appear to be enabling students to attend community colleges full-time, predominantly in the summer, and therefore are increasing drop out rates when these same students are not academically prepared (ISU researchers on team showing Pell Grant impact on community college expansion, 2011).
Because of the current economy many people are either going back to school and are choosing community colleges over four-year institutions because of money. This means that the enrollment in most community colleges is up. This also means that they amount of Pell grants that are being awarded to those students who are attending those colleges are also up. Many of these students are not prepared for college on an academic level. This is causing an increase in the drop out rate among those students because they are not able to perform at the academic levels that are required to continue their
These remedial programs should be put into place to assist students that are lacking in certain skills to get the skills that they need so that they can perform well enough academically to be successful in college and not drop out. Participating in one of these programs should be a condition of getting the Pell Grant. Thus if a student wants the money from the Pell Grant they would have to agree to participation in order to get the money.
Having these programs in place would be a good way to reduce the drop out rates that appear to be caused by the Pell Grant program. If it is well-known that the students that get these grants are not prepared to succeed in college from the beginning then something needs to be done to help these students succeed the best that they can. If Pell Grant money is being wasted on students who have no chance of succeeding then the money is not available for some other students that might have a great chance to succeed.
Works Cited
"ISU researchers on team showing Pell Grant impact on community college expansion."
2011. Web. 20 October 2011.
Poro, Taylor. 2011. "Current grant system wastes money on drop-outs." Web. 20 October
2011. < http://www.dailycampus.com/commentary/current-grant-system-wastes-money-on-drop-outs-1.1905430#.TqBNhlvBQsk>
Toby, Jackson. 2010. "Why Remediation in College Doesn't Work." Web. 20 October 2011.
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