COURSES REMAIN BIG DRAW COLLEGE PROGRAM STILL STRONG.

Byline: Eugene Tong Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - College of the Canyons has seen steady growth in high school students who take college-level courses there, even after such concurrent enrollment polices came under attack by state officials earlier this year.

Close to 1,000 students - mostly from the Hart high school district - are expected to also enroll in the Santa Clarita Community College District campus during the 2003-04 school year, according to college projections.

It's a 92 percent increase from the 484 since fall 1999, although the gains have flattened since an initial surge when the state lowered the financial barrier, such as by enacting fee waivers for concurrently enrolled students.

``It had grown substantially a couple years ago with the changes of policy and procedures,'' said Barry Gribbons, vice president of institutional development. ``I think we're seeing a sort of plateauing or very light normal growth as opposed to the big rise ... when these policies are developed. It's more proportional.''

Yet concurrent enrollment came under scrutiny earlier this year in a statewide probe that found as much as $36 million may have been improperly claimed by community colleges last year through such programs.

The California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office investigation was triggered by news media reports of coaches and administrators who coerced high school athletes into college-level physical education classes, in an alleged scheme to siphon funds from state coffers. Some colleges also offered courses that appeared to fall short of state education standards for funding.

``Unfortunately, a lot of that growth were deemed not academic,'' said Scott Lay, budget director at the Community College League of California, which represents the state's 72 community college campuses. ``The abusive practices have already been cleaned out.''

No serious problems were found at College of the Canyons, but the preliminary report from chancellor's office probe raised questions about public access in at least 95 college-credit PE courses offered during 2001-02 - a key criterion for funding - and recommended additional review. If officials found any wrongdoing, the college may have to reimburse up to $62,000 to the state.

Since then, College of the Canyons has shifted those PE classes to its community extension program, which is funded through student fees. And last week, an independent audit by the Vavrinek, Trine, Day & Co. found the courses in question were compliant with state guidelines. The report would be submitted to the chancellor's office for review, Gribbons said.

``It's good to get a clean bill of health,'' he said.

Meanwhile, new legislation to tighten the qualifications behind the concurrent enrollment funding is working its way through Sacramento. Senate Bill 338, proposed by state Senator Jack Scott, D-Pasadena, would outline a cap, for example, on the number of special enrollment students for any physical education class at no more than 10 percent.

``My concern is there is going to be a chilling factor where the state may draw restrictions on the practice, and colleges are going to be afraid to do something that's unclear,'' Lay said. ``(The legislation) will make clear what community colleges working with K-12 students can do to service the students.''

For ambitious high school students, concurrent enrollment remains a cost-effective fast track to higher education.

``A lot of them want the challenge,'' said Vicki Engbrecht, Hart High School district's curriculum director. ``A lot of them want to see what college is going to be like.''

Enrollment requires parent and Hart administration approval. College- side, students are limited to no more than 12 units a semester. ``We want to make sure the course the student is requesting is going to further their academic goals,'' Engbrecht said. ``A student who has not demonstrated mastery of basic skills would not be approved for a college level course. ... Otherwise, if a student is capable of taking the class, we very much encourage of the concurrent enrollment experience.''

Eugene Tong, [phone]

eugene.tong(at)dailynews.com