NMC enrollees dip 51 percent • Exclusion of part-time students from EAP forces many to drop out of college

Enrollment at the Northern Marianas College totaled 1,239 in the fall semester of 1999, a 51 percent decline compared to the same period in 1998, according to George Pangelinan, NMC dean of Student Services.

The reduction in number is mainly due to a recent policy change in the government’s scholarship program that removed part-time students from the Educational Assistance Program.

Part-time students make up 50 to 55 percent of the total student population of the college.

Several classes have been canceled due to lack of enrollees.

With the current economic crisis, Pangelinan explained, many students were forced to take part-time jobs to help augment the family’s income, making them unable to become full-time students.

NMC learned about the new policy disqualifying part-time students in EAP last summer, but the scholarship office claimed it has been there all along.

“We lobbied for the change in policy with the Governor’s Office because parents have been calling up crying for help,” said Pangelinan. He said he asked House Speaker Diego T. Benavente and Rep. Oscar Babauta to help them in including the part-time students in the EAP.

The inconsistency in the government’s scholarship program was also shown when an earlier order was issued scrapping the EAP and replacing it with a loan program. A few weeks after, the loan program was junked, implementing the EAP again.

“We were shocked when they told us that it has been changed to a loan program. We hope they change it soon. There has to be equal treatment between on-island and off-island students,” said Pangelinan.

Cutting down on the financial assistance has a negative effect on the school’s marketing strategy to entice students to enroll on the island’s only community college.

The absence of a consistent scholarship policy can be traced back to the failure of the Scholarship Office to consult NMC in developing a relevant program.

“We have asked them to let us be involved in making the policies. We have the information and the experience in handling the assistance program for a long time. We develop policies based on experience and not just out of thin air,” said Pangelinan.

He emphasized the importance of adjusting to the needs of the people by making sure that the program is tailored to suit the needs of the community.

“You cannot just say, this is it and nothing else can be done about it. After all, it is for our own island, for our own people. It will improve the life of the individual and the community as a whole,” said Pangelinan.

NMC has expressed concern on the recommendation of Rep. Heinz Hofschneider to lower the tuition it charges to help the cash-strapped government in funding its scholarship program.

Such move will adversely affect NMC’s operations since the government subsidizes only the salaries of personnel. If the tuition is cut, NMC said it is just proper that the Legislature appropriate budget for the college operations.