Program |
Gross Appropriation |
Appropriation Breakdown |
|
|
|
At-Risk Student |
$3,330,608[50] |
All from GF/GP |
Success Program |
|
|
Program Description:
The At-Risk Student Success Program is a tutorial program for students enrolled at Michigan's community colleges. To be eligible for the tutorial program, students must meet one of the following criteria: (1) are initially placed in one or more developmental courses as a result of standardized testing or as a result of failure to make satisfactory academic progress; (2) are diagnosed as learning disabled; or (3) require English as a second language assistance.
Recommended Action:
Providing assistance to students, whether "at-risk" or not, is best handled by individual, family, and community efforts, not state involvement. State subsidies for higher education drive up educational costs, and raise the tax burdens that limit the ability of individuals and families to pay college costs. Moreover, the At-Risk Student Success Program sets up a perverse set of incentives and rewards. For example, under the current program, a student who puts very little effort into a class and fails as a result could be eligible for tutorial services, whereas a student who puts much effort into the same class but is only able to attain a C, for example, because he is simply maladroit in that area of study, is ineligible for help. Generations of immigrants have overcome language barriers, and generations of struggling learners have met academic challenges, all without state intervention. Private assistance efforts provide greater accountability and greater efficiency than state-run programs. The At-Risk Student Success Program should be eliminated.