Keeping the promise Pierce promise program enrolls 800 new students

CHRIS JUAREZ Reporter @roundupcaj

Though enrollment numbers are down, there is one program that keeps its promise. Pierce was ready to accommodate 600 incoming freshmen this semester as part of the Los Angeles College Promise; however, 800 Promise students enrolled, surpassing expectations.

The Los Angeles College Promise is a government-funded program that provides one tuition-free year of college to high school students planning to enroll in LACCD, dissuading students from entering the workforce instead of pursuing an education as LAUSD graduates.

to allow students to receive a higher education without the financial struggles that come along.

Transfer Center Director Sunday Salter said that to be eligible, students must be LAUSD graduates, complete the summer program and enroll full time in the fall.

Promise students are off to a good start, Dean of Students William Marmolejo said.

“We hope that within this first year, because we've been able to cover their resources and their tuition for the year, that they’re not going to worry about that so much, and they will be able to focus on their studies and have that great college experience,” Marmolejo said.

Another goal for the program is for students to stay on track and graduate in a timely manner, Marmolejo said.

“A lot of our students in the past have taken five to six years to transfer,” he said. “Our hope is that our Promise students are out of here in a couple of years.”

Challenges arise when new programs start, Marmolejo said.

Marmolejo said. “We are a little over 800 in terms of full-time Promise students. That's well above our goal of 600, but that may go up with our late-start classes that we started.”

Marmolejo said he hopes the Promise program receives more funding for books and resources.

Financial aid recipient Sandra Matul said the long wait might be caused by understaffing.

“The line should definitely be moving faster than it does,” Matul said. “It just seems unorganized, and isn’t fair to students.”

According to financial aid employee Carissa Gonzalez, one reason for the delay is that the system keeps logging itself out several times a day while the staff is helping students.

“It’s the first year of a new operating student information system. The promise is a new program. There's been a lot of challenges trying to get a handle on how many students we even have,” Marmolejo said. “In a perfect world, things would go smoothly. These are all things that happen in the first year of these kinds of initiatives, and we don’t expect it to be an ongoing problem.”

“It all depends on the funding,” Marmolejo said. “More students that are full time, equals more funding for the college.”

Center for Academic Success

Director Crystal Kiekel said the Promise program is exactly what Pierce needed.

“We keep trying different browsers like Chrome, Explorer and Firefox, and every time we log in, we can check one thing, but if we try to open a new window or check something new, it logs us out,” Gonzalez said. “Sometimes you’ll have to log back in five times just to help one student.”

The Promise program increases the number of students that attend college after high school. This benefits Los Angeles and California by creating the “City of Graduates,” according to lacollegepromise.org. The purpose is

According to Marmolejo, the students have success coaches that have been trained to show them the ropes.

“Success coaches are Pierce College students who’ve been here for two or three years,” he said. “They can share their knowledge with the Promise student they’re assigned to.”

The number of students in the Promise program could possibly change, according to Marmolejo.

“We planned for 600 Promise students. That was our goal when last year the district said Pierce is going to be a part of the Promise program,”

“The purpose of the College Promise was not to start all new programs, but to create structure and coherence around the wonderful programs that already exist,” Kiekel said. “It’s a foreshadowing of things to come. I believe that Pierce will continue to be a leader in this statewide effort to create a more integrated and coherent student success efforts.”

In addition to these setbacks, every student's situation is different. Robinson said a lot of the questions and concerns the Financial Aid Office receives can’t be answered with a simple yes or no, and usually requires conducting additional research and referring to administrative heads for further guidance.

“I totally understand the frustration with the line, but it is just the way we have to navigate the system,” Robinson said. “We appreciate the patience of the students.” stan.roundupnews@gmail.com