Chapter 126
Purpose: The High School Equivalency Program (HEP) helps persons 16 years of age or older who are not currently enrolled in school to obtain the equivalent of a secondary school diploma and subsequently to gain employment or to begin postsecondary education or training. The College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) assists students enrolled in the first undergraduate year at an institution of higher education to complete their program of study for that year. Grants for both HEP and CAMP are made to institutions of higher education (IHEs) or to other nonprofit private agencies that cooperate with such institutions.
Funding History: 1
Fiscal Year | Appropriation | Fiscal Year | Appropriation | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
HEP | CAMP | HEP | CAMP | ||
1975 | $5,396,665 2 | 1987 | $6,300,000 | 1,200,000 | |
1980 | 6,160,000 | $1,173,000 | 1988 | 7,276,000 | 1,340,000 |
1981 | 6,095,000 | 1,208,000 | 1989 | 7,410,000 | 1,482,000 |
1982 | 5,851,200 | 1,160,000 | 1990 | 7,858,000 | 1,720,000 |
1983 | 6,300,000 | 1,200,000 | 1991 | 7,807,000 | 1,952,000 |
1984 | 6,300,000 | 1,950,000 3 | 1992 | 8,310,000 | 2,265,000 |
1985 | 6,300,000 | 1,200,000 | 1993 | 8,161,184 | 2,224,064 |
1986 | 6,029,000 | $1,148,000 | 1994 | 8,161,184 | 2,224,064 |
1/ The Department of Labor began funding HEP and CAMP in 1967, but funding information before 1975 is not available.
2/ This figure represents total funding for both HEP and CAMP in FY 1975.
3/ Includes a $750,000 supplemental appropriation for CAMP.
According to a longitudinal evaluation of the programs, the two programs have, over the last 20 years, served approximately 45,000 students out of an estimated 1.4 million persons whose migratory employment patterns make it difficult for them to complete high school and college educational objectives. Eighty-three percent of HEP students and 93 percent of CAMP students were Hispanics between the ages of 17 and 20 (III.2). The HEP program will serve an estimated 2,963 persons, and the CAMP program an estimated 355 persons in school year 1993-94 (III.3).
Funding for CAMP has remained relatively constant since 1984 in current dollars, but the cost of higher education has increased rapidly. As a consequence, the number of students served through CAMP funding has decreased by approximately one-half since 1984.
The College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) is the only national support program directed solely toward migrant college students. CAMP is a full-service program helping first-year migrant college students (who usually work, in addition to taking courses) to make the transition from high school to college and to complete a college education. CAMP's services include counseling, tutoring, skills workshops, financial aid, stipends, and housing assistance to first-year college students and limited follow-up services to participants after their first year. This small program selects its participants competitively; on average, sites receive 200 applications for every 40 slots (III.2 and III.5).
According to a descriptive review of HEP and CAMP, academic instruction accounted for 57 percent of the average service hours at 12 HEP sites providing services. Instructional support services such as tutoring accounted for 17 percent of the total services provided by HEP projects, job training accounted for 14 percent, counseling services for 7 percent, and cultural or social activities accounted for 5 percent. CAMP projects, on the other hand, emphasize such support services as tutoring and academic and personal counseling rather than direct academic instruction (III.4).
The average cost of supporting one HEP participant for the 1993-94 school year was $2,752; the average cost for one CAMP participant was $6,192 (III.3).
According to the 1989 descriptive review of 16 HEP projects, there were differences in expenditures per participant at commuter, residential, and mixed residential/commuter projects. Commuter HEP projects spent, on the average, $2,160 per participant in 1986-87; residential projects spent $2,287 per participant; and mixed residential/ commuter projects spent $2,797 per participant. The cost per participant was $2,340 at IHE-operated projects and $2,308 at HEP projects operated by private, nonprofit agencies (III.4).
Another study showed that the average rate of GED completion was 70 percent according to data from an evaluation of the program. Of the HEP graduates, 40 percent enrolled in technical\vocational schools, 37 percent in 2 year colleges and 23 percent at 4 year schools (III.4).
HEP programs that were directly affiliated with colleges and universities had GED completion rates of 85 percent while programs lacking a direct university affiliation had GED completion rates of 71 percent. Thirteen percent of the participants in college-based programs earned associate or baccalaureate degrees as compared to five percent of the participants in programs without a university affiliation. Programs that specified anticipated outcomes in observable and measurable terms had a success rate 20 to 30 percent higher than those that did not (III.2).
A longitudinal study found that a total of 92 percent of CAMP participants successfully completed their first year of college (much higher than the national norm of about 50 percent among all first-time entering freshmen) and about 56 percent remained in school and completed college (III.1). Fifteen percent of CAMP students completed a 4 year degree program, and 13 percent completed a 2 year degree program. About one percent of HEP students completed a 4 year degree program and 5 percent completed a 2 year degree program (III.2).
According to the descriptive review of HEP and CAMP, 70 percent of HEP participants completed the GED during the school year. Seventy-three percent of participants at IHE-operated projects completed the GED, as compared with 53 percent of participants at private, nonprofit projects. At residential HEP projects, 83 percent of participants received the GED; at commuter HEP projects, 68 percent of participants received the GED; and at mixed residential/commuter HEP projects, 67 percent of participants received the GED (III.4).
Upon completing the HEP program, 29 percent of the participants were enrolled at a postsecondary institution and 18 percent were employed in nonmigratory work. Eighty-one percent of CAMP participants completed their first year of college (III.4).