PVCC Puma Press: April 2006

Proposition 300, which goes into effect March 1 at PVCC, will directly impact all undocumented students.

Proposition 300 was passed in Arizona in last November and was signed into law that December, barring undocumented students from being eligible for instate tuition. In addition, it prevents these students from receiving any form of financial aid from the state and does not allow them to enter any kind of adult education programs.

At PVCC, the instate tuition is $65 per credit hour. For out of state students the tuition is $90 per credit for up to six credit hours and then $280 for each hour above that. A full schedule of four three credit classes would cost an instate student $780 without tuition fees or books. An out of state student would have to pay $2,220 for the same amount of classes, at a difference of $1,440.

According to a memo released by the PVCC Financial Aid office, "The law also states that a person who is not a citizen of the US....is not entitled to tuition waivers, fee waivers, grants, scholarship assistance, financial aid, tuition assistance or any other type of financial assistance that is subsidized or paid in whole or in part with state monies."

The college offers English as a second language and developmental English classes. The ESL classes are for students whose first language is not English and who are learning English for the first time. Developmental English classes are for students who speak English, but have difficulty with it in their level 100 classes. Since the passing of the law, this semester, three ESL classes were canceled, and nine Developmental English classes were canceled.

“Even though we added three sections this semester, (Developmental class) cancellation is still unusually high,” says John Nelson, English division chairman. “But it is too early to tell if Proposition 300 has had an effect on campus enrollment.”

A community outreach program at Palomino Elementary school is funded by the district and run by Nelson. This program was started in fall of 2005 and, after a short hiatus during 2006, has come back into action. Last semester the program started with a full house of 35 students. Since the passing of the law, this semester only eight students showed up for the Palomino program at the outset.

Andy Peevey, PVCC English faculty, teaches ESL and one developmental class. He says, “I’m torn on this issue. As a citizen, I realize the problems we are having with processing people coming into this country. When I initially looked at Prop 300 I thought it would stop people from coming in. However, this is not a proposition on mass immigration...It’s not going to stop illegal immigrants from coming here.”

As of March 1, all PVCC "students who are currently enrolled will also be asked to reaffirm their residency and citizenship status upon future registrations," according to the Financial Aid Office's memo.

Jo Ann Caufield, director of Financial Aid, and her assistant director, Kenneth Clarke, both hope that the new payment plan policy will help undocumented students struggling to pay out-of-state tuition.

The e-cashier payment plan allows students to pay their college tuition over a few scheduled payments throughout the semester rather than all at once. The e-cashier link can be found on the PVCC home page.