Unit cap restricting community college student progress

Picking a major is a fundamental step in a student’s collegiate career. This is especially true if the student is receiving money from the Free Application for Federal Student Aid  (FAFSA) to help pay for school.

Students are hindered by a strict limit of how many units they can complete before being stripped of their FAFSA benefits. When a student constantly changes their major with no transfer in sight, they risk hitting the 90-unit mark and losing aid until they transfer to a four-year university.

A 90-unit policy is unfair to students who work hard but have outside obligations keeping them from transferring to a four-year university. Community college is a place where students go through a transition to figure out what they want to do with the rest of their lives. A cap at 90 units is not a suitable limit for students who are trying to figure out their academic and professional goals.

The minimum requirement to transfer to a four-year university is 60 units. Federal Student Aid enacts the 90-unit rule to benefit students who are just beginning their college career and need to sample areas in brand new areas so that they can find a good fit. Community college should be a place where you can try astronomy, journalism, psychology, nutrition and all the other classes you cannot take in high school.

A 90-unit cap is a terrible policy. Students may change their major several times before they find one they are comfortable with. Once a major is changed, students may have to start from square one or take additional classes. Another consequence of reaching the 90-unit limit affects those students who have transferred courses from other colleges. Some students are stuck at the community college level due to poor GPA and are transferring to another community college to retake the classes they have failed to boost their GPA to meet the university requisites to transfer. Many times a student attends community college because it is a more affordable option or they can not attend full-time due to work, family matters, or other external priorities out of their control. Students are told by counselors and instructors that obtaining an associates will boost their chances of landing an entry-level position in their field of study while working on their bachelor’s degree.

Some students who already have their bachelor’s or post-graduate degree are taking a small number of courses because they have been laid off from their job or need to learn a skill needed in their field of expertise to improve their job performance. This is called continuing education and many jobs require it.  Community college is a cheaper alternative that also provides more interaction with the professor because of the small classrooms with a fixed number of students.

Students who have reached the 90-unit limit should be able to file an appeal with the financial aid office and extend their aid when taking a minimum 12 units and have a GPA 3.0 or higher.

Students who can not attend school full-time will have to go through fast-track hybrid classes so they will complete their 12 units in eight-week intervals, allowing them to keep maintain a steady workload. Hybrid classes will allow students to miss days but still be expected to pick up the able to learn the material necessary to pass the class. This solution would provide a realistic goal for students and demonstrate that they are close to transferring to a four-year university.