One group of students fled community college in record numbers during the pandemic. Can these schools lure them back

BY ADAM ECHELMAN

towards a degree.

In the 2017-18 academic year, the College of the Siskiyous enrolled 827 farmworkers over the age of 50 in the program.

This year, the College of the Siskiyous has 11 such students over 50 years old.

Along with consistently low wages, these farmworkers had high rates of COVID-19 infection and few worker protections that ultimately pushed them away from classes, Worthington said.

Community college enrollment decline and competition

Navigating the Homebuying Process with Poor Credit...continued from

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Now, College of the Siskiyous has turned its attention from farmworkers to prisoners, joining the many colleges who seek to enroll more incarcerated students. The college is also preparing for budget cuts. For example, Fields said the college is canceling classes with only five or six students.

Popularity of noncredit courses

waiting to become a homeowner means missing out on homeownership benefits. Some of the homeownership benefits you may be eager to reap include:

Building equity in your home as you make mortgage payments and if the value appreciates.

Stability of homeownership versus renting, where rents can increase dramatically, or landlords can end leases.

The ability to make improvements and renovations to suit your needs and preferences without a landlord’s restrictions.

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) offers loans to qualifying first-time homeowners with lower credit scores. The FHA, part of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), insures the loan, so your lender can offer you a better deal. This could mean it is easier to qualify with a lower down payment. You may also have lower closing costs and interest rates. Local programs in your state may also be available.

Grizzled farmworkers are the hot new commodity as community colleges try to reverse a years-long enrollment decline.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the “golden age” of higher education — where more and more adults were attending college every year — came to a halt, and California’s community college enrollment plummeted to a 30-year low.

The state community college system lost hundreds of thousands of students, but it was those 50 years and older who left at the highest rates compared to other age groups.

From Siskiyou County, on the border with Oregon, to the Inland Empire, college leaders told CalMatters how older, lowincome adults often had to work “essential” jobs or to step back into the workforce to support their families. Because of their age, they faced an increased risk of COVID-19. Many were less comfortable using Zoom or they lacked an adequate internet connection for online classes.

As a result, these older students left their college ambitions to the wayside during the pandemic.

Now they are also trying to reel older students back in with new programs and concerted outreach efforts. While some colleges have managed to buck the downward trends, others have found themselves competing for the same students.

Enrolling farmworkers

During the pandemic, the College of the Sisikyous saw one of the biggest enrollment declines across all age groups.

With roughly 2,500 fewer students total in 2021-22 compared to the 2018-19 academic year, the College of the Siskiyous could lose about $2.3 million dollars — just over 10% of its total funding.

Compared to other age groups, students over 50 years old left at the highest rates. And it’s a problem that’s been happening for years, even before the pandemic: COVID-19 was just “the straw that broke the camel’s back,” said Samantha Worthington, who oversees adult education at the college.

Instead, the college’s enrollment issues began as a result of competition from other schools.

Similar to many California community colleges, which have looked to out-of-state residents and even international students, administrators at the College of the Siskiyous started to look beyond the county line about seven years ago, especially for older students.

The college partnered with an organization called the Farmworker Institute on Education and Leadership Development to offer classes to farmworkers who live hundreds of miles south in places such as Monterey and Kern counties. Often, these students study to improve their English, to learn new career skills, or work

The decline in students is also because other colleges — faced with their own declining enrollment numbers — saw an opportunity to target the same students.

In 2021, Bakersfield College launched a partnership with the same nonprofit organization to target local farmworkers and declined to sign the collaborative contract it had previously made with the College of the Siskiyous.

In the course of a few years, Bakersfield College launched a flurry of new initiatives, all aimed at boosting enrollment for older students. Administrators opened new teaching centers in South Bakersfield and in the rural town of Wasco. They created a new program to educate people experiencing homelessness and another one, in partnership with the local school district, to teach parents about child development.

From the 2018-19 academic year to 2021-22, the most recent year with verified enrollment data, Bakersfield saw an increase of more than 41% in students over the age of 50, the largest increase of all the state’s 116 community colleges.

Bakersfield College is also a leader in enrolling high school students. In fact, the new California Community College Chancellor Dr. Sonya Christian — a former Bakersfield College president — has said she wants to enroll every 9th grader in a college course, something she first piloted in Kern County.

The key to recruiting and retaining older students lies in the way which classes are taught, but most colleges aren’t making the necessary changes, said Kathy Booth, a project director at the education research group WestEd.

To lure older students to school, community colleges need to offer flexible and engaging courses that have clear and specific career outcomes. “The most frequent award that’s given out is a general studies associate’s degree,” she said. “There are very few employers that are asking for associate’s degrees outside of a few technical fields, so that sort of general education is less valuable to a working adult.”

Instead, adults over the age of 50 often want to take noncredit courses, which do not count toward degrees. Noncredit courses are short, free and typically vocational, covering topics such as HVAC repair.

But across the state, colleges struggled to move many of the most popular noncredit courses, such as those in automotive repair, healthcare, and early childhood development, to an online format.

In the 2021-22 academic year, Mt. San Antonio College had about 34,000 students taking noncredit classes, the largest volume of students in the state. Like most colleges, Mt. San Antonio saw a drop in the number of students over 50 who enrolled since the start of the pandemic.

Madelyn Arballo, the vice president of continuing education, is not worried, though. “The first year of the

PPOSBC: One Year Later, Supreme Court Ruling on Abortion Endangers Patients Nationwide

Patients from over 32 states have traveled to Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino Counties (PPOSBC) health centers for abortion care since the June 24, 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, ending the federal right to abortion; some have even flown to California for miscarriage care for fear of prosecution in their home state.

centers for abortion care. The vast majority of these patients are traveling from Texas, where abortion is totally outlawed, and Arizona, where constantly shifting abortion restrictions have sown confusion and chaos.

ANAHEIM, CA – June 22,

2023 – Ahead of the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling on June 24, 2022, ending the federal right to abortion, Planned Parenthood of Orange & San Bernardino Counties (PPOSBC) released sobering statistics about the ruling’s impacts.

Since July 2022, over 20 U.S. states have banned or severely restricted access to abortion, and the impacts are even being felt in Southern California, where abortion remains legal. The cascading effects of abortion restrictions and the resulting climate of fear for both patients and providers have upended abortion care nationwide. Over the past year, nearly 450 people from 32 states nationwide have traveled to PPOSBC health

PPOSBC’s Abortion Aid program, which helps both local and out-of-state patients make arrangements for abortion care, has collected anonymous data and stories since the program launched in January 2022, soon after the passage of SB 8 in Texas (which outlawed abortion after six weeks gestation). The Abortion Aid program includes a confidential call center, where trained patient navigators help abortion patients from across the country make travel arrangements, provide hotel and meal vouchers, and even help arrange logistics like car seats.

“The patients we have had the honor of assisting this year are brave and resilient, but should not be forced to travel thousands of miles for basic healthcare,” said Heeva Ghane, PPOSBC’s Director of Case Management and direct lead for the Abortion Aid program. “We have had patients fly to California during a medical emergency because they feel safer seeking care here than in their home state. Patients unable to find or afford childcare are traveling across multiple states with small children, so they can make a choice that will enable them to better care for their families. Patients who cannot get time off work are driving 12 hours non-stop for a five-minute procedure, then turning around and driving home. These patients are strong, but they are also scared. They should not be put in the position they are in.”

Patient Stories

Many of PPOSBC’s out-ofstate patients over the past year have been low-income, and had previously never traveled outside of their home state. Said Ghane: “One of our first patients from out-of-state was traveling from Texas. It was her first time ever getting on a flight. She was traveling alone and very nervous. She explained to me how she already had an 18-month-old. Her boyfriend had broken up with her and did not want to be involved with the 18-month-old’s life, and she didn’t have the financial means

Potential tax benefits, such as mortgage interest and property tax payments, which are generally tax-deductible.

Because of the benefits of homeownership, buying a home with a low credit score can have some advantages. It is essential to weigh the potential benefits against the drawbacks and ensure you can afford the mortgage payment before jumping in. Possible disadvantages to buying a home with a low credit score include a higher interest rate and the need to put down a larger down payment to qualify for a loan.

Before applying for a mortgage with poor credit, here are some steps to consider.

Save for a Larger Down Payment

Lenders are more likely to approve borrowers with bad credit if they can put down a significant amount of money upfront. A larger down payment means you’ll have a lower loanto-value ratio, which reduces the lender’s risk. Saving for a larger down payment may improve your chances of getting approved

Look for a Cosigner If your credit score is too low to qualify for a loan, consider finding a cosigner with good credit. A cosigner agrees to take responsibility for the loan if you default, which reduces the lender’s risk. However, keep in mind that if you miss payments or default on the loan, your cosigner’s credit will be affected.

Work with a Mortgage Broker

A mortgage broker can help you find lenders more likely to approve borrowers with bad credit. Brokers can access various loan products and match you with a lender that suits your needs. They can also help you navigate the homebuying process and answer any questions.

Be patient, and don’t rush into buying a home before you’re ready. Improving your credit score and saving for a larger down payment will take time and effort. Finding assistance programs and being approved for a loan may take longer. A mortgage broker can help you with the right approach for your situation so you can put a plan to support herself, her baby, and a newborn. Luckily on the day of her appointment, I was also working in the health center so I was able to meet her in person, and hold her hand during her appointment.”

“Another patient we had recently was traveling from Florida, and she was also flying for the first time. Luckily her boyfriend was accompanying her, but it was his first time flying as well. She did not have a credit card, and was not familiar with how hotels and rideshares worked. We helped her make a hotel reservation and arranged a rideshare for her, but her inexperience with traveling still made the journey to get to our health center from LAX a stressful time.” for a home loan with bad credit and can lower your monthly payments.

A large number of out-of-state patients at PPOSBC are unable to get abortion care earlier in their pregnancies because their home state imposes so many hurdles on getting an abortion. They often have many other aspects of their life to coordinate, such as time off work, childcare, financial concerns, and finding someone to accompany them.

Consider FHA Loans into action and start taking steps towards homeownership.

SPONSORED BY JPMORGAN CHASE

PPOSBC: One Year Later, Supreme Court Ruling on Abortion Endangers Patients Nationwide ...continued

The climate of fear around abortion and pregnancy-related care has even led some patients to avoid seeking legal medical procedures in their home state.

“There was a patient traveling from Texas who was experiencing symptoms of a miscarriage, which is a medical emergency,” said Ghane. “She reached out to us in California because she was too afraid to seek help at home. We told her she was able to receive this kind of care in her home state, and urged her to reach out to her local Planned Parenthood. However, because she was so afraid of being prosecuted under Texas law, she ended up flying to California to get care at one of our health centers. At her appointment, she found out she was no longer pregnant–she had passed the pregnancy while on her flight.”

By the Numbers

Since July 2022, nearly 450 people from 32 states nationwide have traveled to PPOSBC health centers for abortion care.

The vast majority of these outof-state patients are from two states. 39% stated they are from Texas, 30% stated they are from Arizona.

20% of patients traveling from other states request financial assistance in order to make the trip.

While the number of outof-state abortion patients represents a very small fraction of the overall number of abortion patients PPOSBC sees each year, the fact remains that more people have been forced to travel thousands of miles for abortion care since the Dobbs ruling on June 24, 2022.

“Well over a year ago, we knew that the Supreme Court would likely overturn Roe v. Wade, so we were well-prepared to absorb more patients forced to travel from out-of-state,” said Nichole Ramirez, PPOSBC’s Senior Vice President of Communications and Donor Relations. “We are committed to providing quality, compassionate care to everyone in our community and beyond. Our doors remain open, as they have for the past 50 years, to any patient who comes to us, regardless of their insurance, immigration status or ability to pay.”

Continued Ramirez: “Today’s anniversary is an emotional one, and it reminds us that none of us are unaffected when rights are taken away for anyone in our country. The stories we have to share should make any extremist politician who supports abortion restrictions think twice about the lives they are upending.”