Lawmakers may change the way the program is funded in order to retain concurrent enrollment classes without unduly burdening colleges and universities.

One proposal presented at a legislative committee meeting Thursday calls for the Utah State Office of Education to receive 60 percent of the nearly $8 million the Legislature allocates for concurrent enrollment. The other 40 percent would go to the Utah System of Higher Education, which would control how much each college or university would receive. Any draft bill also likely would include a provision allowing colleges to charge up to $30 per credit hour for concurrent enrollment classes if the Legislature does not fully fund the program, even though Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. vetoed a similar bill early this year. The bill would have required students to pay not just the $35 enrollment fee, but up to $30 per credit hour for courses. Under the plan, most concurrent enrollment courses would have cost between $90 and $120.

Rep. Margaret Dayton, R-Orem, who sponsored last year's bill, considers $90 per course to be a bargain for students who would expect to pay several hundred dollars for regular college classes.

"In case the Legislature doesn't fully fund concurrent enrollment, I want there to be a provision for obtaining funding from other sources," she said.

That raised the ire of many low-income-student advocates, who said charging the partial tuition would disallow many students from earning college credit while in high school.

Dayton disagreed. "It seems to me we're helping those [lower-income] students," she said.

Many argued the Legislature's $8 million annual funding allotment should be enough to cover the costs of the program.

Bill Sederburg, Utah Valley State College president, thinks it isn't. He said his school last year had to subsidize the concurrent enrollment program by $300,000.

"We had to subsidize it in order to keep the quality of a college class intact," Sederburg said.

He said the legislative allocation only paid for classroom teachers, and not overhead costs such as administration, counselors and paperwork.

"We're not benefiting the high schools by hurting the colleges," Dayton said.

Currently, high school students pay a $35 enrollment fee for concurrent enrollment courses and they can take as many classes as they want.

However, that means students who are in college and taking the same courses essentially subsidize the concurrent enrollment students.

smcfarland@sltrib.com

Concurrent enrollment

Utah's concurrent enrollment program enables students to earn college credit while still in high school.

HOW IT WORKS NOW: Students pay a nominal one-time enrollment fee that allows them to take a number of concurrent enrollment courses.

HOW IT MAY CHANGE: One proposal would allow educators to charge high school students up to $30 per credit hour for the courses if lawmakers do not fully fund concurrent enrollment.