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Community colleges ask flexibility to cover higher-credit dual-enrollment courses
Summary
Community college system asked the committee to amend dual/concurrent enrollment rules so the early college scholarship can cover higher-credit workforce courses (e.g., nursing assistants, welding); system staff said scholarship appropriation this year is $3 million and last year about 11,000 students participated.
Representative Rick Ladd introduced HB 1202 to adjust statutory language governing dual and concurrent enrollment for the Community College System of New Hampshire. Shawna Young, director of secondary education partnerships for the community college system, testified the amendment would restore the system's intended flexibility so that higher-credit workforce and technical courses (which can exceed four credits) can be supported by the early-college scholarship.
Committee members asked how the program is funded and whether removing a hard course-count limit would create fiscal pressure. Young said the dual/concurrent scholarship program is supported by an annual state appropriation (this year about $3 million) and that program administration to date has kept demand within the appropriation. She said the requested change is intended to maximize student access, particularly in high-need workforce areas such as licensed nursing assistant training and welding.
Lawmakers asked whether policies would be needed to prioritize students if funding became constrained; Young said the system did not have a formal internal prioritization policy and that the system has not yet exceeded funding capacity. The committee closed the hearing without taking immediate action, seeking any needed fiscal analysis before changes are made to statutory language.
