Legislature(2009 - 2010)BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
02/19/2010 08:00 AM Senate EDUCATION
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB213 | |
| SB224 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | SB 224 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| = | SB 213 | ||
SB 224-POSTSECONDARY SCHOLARSHIPS
8:28:11 AM
CO-CHAIR THOMAS called the meeting back to order and announced
consideration of SB 224. He advised that the administration had
proposed two amendments to the original bill, which they would
discuss today.
8:29:34 AM
EDDY JEANS, Director, School Finance and Facilities Section,
Department of Education and Early Development (DEED), Juneau,
Alaska, affirmed that these amendments were drafted for the
original bill, so the line numbers would have to be revised if
the committee adopted the CS. He advised that Amendment 1 has to
do with the grade-point average and placing the lettering of the
tiers into statute; it then goes on to define the grade point
average (GPA) for each of the tiers.
8:30:20 AM
SENATOR STEVENS questioned what "average" means when the bill
states that students have to be above average. For example, a C-
plus average tier is less than 3.0 but no less than 2.5. He
asked if the administration was saying C is inadequate and
wondered if they were stretching the truth.
MR. JEANS answered that this was based on a 4.0-grading scale,
and the governor wanted the lowest acceptable tier to be a C-
plus average.
8:31:53 AM
MR. JEANS said the second amendment offered by the
administration was a needs-based component for the Governor's
Performance Scholarship (GPS) program. He explained that after a
student had earned the scholarship and gone through the FAFSA
process to identify other grants or scholarships available, the
Department of Health and Social Services expected the student
and family to contribute at least $2000 annually to his or her
education and the state would kick in 50 percent of the
remaining unmet need.
CO-CHAIR THOMAS said it was his understanding that the chart Mr.
Jeans handed out to the committee shows approximately how much
money that represents.
MR. JEANS agreed. He said the chart provides some examples of
how the scholarship program would pay out. The first example had
an estimated cost of $14,000 at the University of Alaska.
Assuming a student qualified for the full amount of the Pell
Grant, which would be roughly $5700, plus the UA Scholars Award
of $2750, the highest tier under the Governor's Performance
Award would be $4755, leaving an unmet need of $795. Because the
student must pay at least $2000 toward his education, he would
not qualify for any additional needs-based funds. If the student
attended APU where costs are higher, again assuming that he
qualified for the Pell Grant, UA Scholars Award and the highest
tier under the GPS, his unmet need would be $14,045 and the
state would pick up half of that.
8:35:41 AM
SENATOR STEVENS said he thought the unmet financial need
amendment made a lot of sense. He asked if the documentation to
arrive at the amount of unmet need was based on FAFSA.
MR. JEANS replied it was.
8:36:19 AM
CO-CHAIR MEYER questioned at what income level the FAFSA kicks
in.
MR. JEANS said he would have to get back to the senator on that.
SENATOR STEVENS asked if all students are required to complete
the FAFSA.
MR. JEANS confirmed that they are.
8:37:15 AM
CO-CHAIR MEYER asked Mr. Jeans to explain the Pell Grant.
MR. JEANS explained that the Pell is a federal grant for low-
income students and is based on family income.
CO-CHAIR MEYER asked if the Pell Grant is also based on the
FAFSA.
MR. JEANS replied yes.
CO-CHAIR MEYER said that goes back to his original question
regarding the income level at which the Pell Grant kicks in.
MR. JEANS reiterated that he would get back to the committee
with that information. Based on information provided by Senator
Thomas's staff this morning, he said he knew the Department of
Health and Social Services needed to do some work to verify and
refine the numbers.
8:39:10 AM
SENATOR STEVENS asked where the family contribution comes in.
MR. JEANS responded that students must cover $2000 of their
educational expenses, so that amount comes off the top of their
unmet need.
8:39:49 AM
CO-CHAIR MEYER noted that the state will contribute a maximum of
$3000 for vocational/technical school, and asked why that amount
is different from the amount of the scholastic scholarship.
MR. JEANS answered that there are actually two different
scholarships in the governor's GPS bill; one is the academic
scholarship for attendance at a university and the other is a
career and technical scholarship for attendance at career and
technical schools. He added that the Department of Labor and
Workforce Development (DOLWD) would publish a list of career and
technical schools that have been approved for the scholarship
program.
He continued to say the curriculum requirements under the
governor's bill are the same for both scholarships, but the
course requirements between them are a little different. He
noted that the House proposed an amendment to allow a student
under the career and technical program to apply for the maximum
dollar amount offered under the scholarship program.
CO-CHAIR MEYER said he would like to address that as well,
because the costs for a vocational/technical program are
sometimes even higher than those at a university.
8:42:12 AM
SENATOR STEVENS said he was still trying to get his head around
remedial education. He asked if awards would ever be available
to those students who come from villages where the required math
and science classes are not even offered.
MR. JEANS said the governor's GPS bill contains a provision that
allows a student who was not afforded the opportunity to take
the curriculum requirements to apply to DEED for an alternative
pathway, but the student might have to spend the first year in
college on his own dime meeting the core course requirements or
taking courses over the summer at the university.
SENATOR STEVENS asked if that would extend the length of time
the scholarship would be available to him.
MR. JEANS replied that the bill did not address that. He thought
the department would address alternative pathways through the
regulatory process and that it would make sense to give students
additional time.
SENATOR STEVENS asked if some of the remedial classes would be
credited.
8:44:19 AM
MR. JEANS responded that the intent is for students to meet the
core requirements outlined in the bill, which can be
accomplished through remedial courses. He emphasized that the
department sees this as a reform bill to put pressure on school
districts to better prepare students for postsecondary education
or the work force. It is their hope that as it evolves, the
university will be able to reduce the number of remedial courses
it has to offer.
8:45:20 AM
CO-CHAIR THOMAS asked Mr. Jeans to go over page 2 of Amendment 2
again to clarify the definition of "unmet need" and be sure that
(d) of the amendment reflects the calculation shown on his
chart. He read from page 2, lines 7-9, "subtracting from the
student's allowable standard costs of attendance at the
institution all non-loan sources of financial support, including
an expected family contribution".
8:46:21 AM
MR. JEANS said the $2000-student contribution was referenced
under item (c), lines 4-5.
CO-CHAIR THOMAS resumed reading on line 8, "all non-loan sources
of financial support, including an expected family contribution
and all federal, state, and private". He ventured that "federal"
would refer to the Pell Grant, and "state" to the UA Scholars
Award and this scholarship.
MR. JEANS said "state" refers to the GPS bill.
CO-CHAIR THOMAS asked if it would also refer to the Scholars
Award.
MR. JEANS said he is not sure whether that falls under state or
under private scholarships and grants.
CO-CHAIR THOMAS said he was just advised that it is considered
private.
MR. JEANS said it is operated by the University of Alaska, so it
is quasi-private.
8:48:08 AM
CO-CHAIR MEYER asked what the housing award listed on the chart
under APU is.
8:48:51 AM
MARCY HERMAN, Legislative Liaison, Alaska Department of
Education and Early Development (DEED), Juneau, Alaska,
explained that she got the housing award off the APU website;
they also have an academic award for Alaska students accepted at
APU. She commented that private universities are able to provide
greater reductions in the cost of college attendance than public
universities.
CO-CHAIR MEYER said if the Pell Grant is a sliding scale based
on income, the chart must reflect the lowest end of the income
scale.
MS. HERMAN confirmed that $5700 is the maximum grant that will
be awarded in the fall of 2010 for the 2010-2011 academic year.
She clarified that qualification for the Pell is based on all
types of income, assets, and how many children are attending
college that year. In general, she said, families become
eligible for the Pell at an income of $60,000 or less.
8:51:28 AM
SENATOR STEVENS asked again about the six-year window and why it
matters how long it takes students to get a degree.
MR. JEANS explained that statistics show students are more
successful if they enter college immediately. The administration
also wanted to limit the length of time the state has to make
these funds available.
SENATOR STEVENS asked what happens if a student drops out to
join the military for four years.
MR. JEANS answered that provisions allow extensions for military
service. He said he thought the reasoning behind the time limit
might be the difficulty of tracking the people who are eligible
for grants and the status of their eligibility over a long
period of time.
SENATOR STEVENS said he was just trying to find out what thought
process led to the six-year limit.
MR. JEANS responded that statistics show students who don't
continue with their higher education shortly out of high school
are less likely to complete it, so this bill is intended to
motivate kids to get started early.
8:54:39 AM
CO-CHAIR THOMAS asked if the six years also applies to the
vocational/technical scholarship.
MR. JEANS answered that it does apply, but once a student starts
he must finish school in two years.
8:55:02 AM
CO-CHAIR MEYER reminded Mr. Jeans that the committee talked
about making some changes to the course requirements and asked
him to comment on that.
8:55:49 AM
MR. JEANS replied that they are still looking at the amendment
related to those changes. He added that the department is
willing to work with the legislature to address some of their
concerns, as long as they maintain the high academic rigor so
that students are successful when they leave high school no
matter what they decide to pursue.
8:56:40 AM
SENATOR STEVENS asked where the money for this scholarship will
come from.
8:56:59 AM
MR. JEANS answered that the initial deposit into the fund is in
the operating budget and will be a general fund (GF)
appropriation in the current year.
8:57:21 AM
CO-CHAIR THOMAS said the committee agrees with the need for
academic rigor, but recognizes that not every student is going
to be an engineer; academic rigor in the pursuit of a degree in
philosophy may not require four years of math.
8:58:20 AM
CO-CHAIR MEYER pointed out that some of these courses may be
difficult for students to get in the rural schools. He said the
commissioner assured him that there is a provision for
alternative pathways in those cases and asked if that is
correct.
MR. JEANS said a provision in the GPS bill allows the student
and family to apply to the department for an alternative pathway
to meet the requirements, but stressed that it is their intent
not to lower the standards for the scholarship.
8:59:16 AM
SENATOR DAVIS said she would like Diane Barrans and the
Commissioner to answer some of the questions today's discussions
have raised. She also pointed out that the committee still
hasn't gotten around to the proposed CS.
CO-CHAIR THOMAS held SB 224 in committee.
9:01:50 AM
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Co-Chair Thomas adjourned the meeting at 9:01 a.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|