State lawmakers are considering a bill that would grant course credit to multilingual community college students for the English courses for the first time.
The Credit for All Language Learning (CALL) Act requires that all non-remedial English courses for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) count towards a students’ associate's degree. The bill also mandates that all four-year colleges in the state accept those credits in transfers — unless there are unique degree requirements.
Advocates say the CALL Act removes unnecessary educational barriers for multilingual students.
“This is fundamentally about equity, about making sure that the students who often have to overcome the greatest challenges to be successful in school are getting the opportunity to get credit for work that they're doing, just like everybody else,” said Delegate Jared Solomon, one of the bill’s sponsors.
Maria Cespedes Chavez is studying to be a nurse at the Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC). But she spent her first year as a student taking English language courses.
She said learning a new language feels like “running a marathon.”
“And then when I get to the end, they're like, ‘No, you need to run it again. Because that one didn't count,’” she said. “It's truly a form of discrimination. If you speak English, then you not only can take a second language and be credited for it…you can also graduate sooner because you have credits from languages that you have learned.”
Cespedes Chavez spent 10 years in Costa Rica learning English in school, and three more challenging herself through online courses. But she said she felt insecure and frustrated at CCBC, taking courses that sometimes repeated what she already knew — and didn’t further her career at all.
“The system is telling you that it's not worth it,” she said. “If you're born with English, then you already have a basic skill that everybody should have. And if you need to learn English, then you're already behind, like everybody is one step ahead of you.”
Cespedes Chavez said the wasted time and money discourages non-native English speakers from pursuing education.
“There is a big population in high schools of students that are coming from families that don't speak English as a first language,” she said. “All of that population, they need to go through a whole year of a wall to get through their degree. I have the resources to do that. But they may not.”
Some students spend a semester's worth — or more — of Pell Grants and state financial aid on these non-accredited courses, Solomon said.
“Anything that does not give them credit just makes it harder to graduate. And then there's also a disincentive to take these classes,” he said. “If you're barely making ends meet, why would you want to take classes that ultimately don't add to your degree, even if they do help you academically?”
In a senate hearing on Feb. 14, Maricruz Abarca said she had to make sacrifices as a single mother to take English-learning courses at Baltimore City Community College.
“Those 18 credits did not count towards my degree,” she said in a tearful testimony. “That was money I paid out of my pocket, money I knew I was not going to use for my children.”
Thuta, a student at Anne Arundel Community College, said some international students are unable to secure visas for non-credit courses.
“Fortunately, I got it, and had a chance to come to the United States and study,” he said.
The transfer requirement, amended
Matt Power, president of the Maryland Independent College and University Association, said the bill needs an amendment to give flexibility for private colleges who do not allow for transfer credits in certain programs, or at large.
In the Feb. 14 senate hearing, Power said MICUA “appreciates the spirit and good intentions” of the CALL Act, but has “practical concerns” about its implementation. He cited St. John’s College, which accepts no transfer credits for any courses.
Senator Malcolm Augustine, one of the bill’s senate-side sponsors, said he and Delegate Solomon are working with MICUA and the University System of Maryland to create technical language for said amendment.
The default would be that any non-remedial ESOL course could transfer to any four-year college, Augustine said, “unless under these very, very narrow circumstances” where no other transfer courses are accepted — like in specific degree programs.
Solomon said all colleges still retain autonomy to set their own general education requirements under the CALL Act.
But for public colleges, and private colleges that receive state funding, ESOL credits “wouldn't necessarily have to fill a specific requirement, but they would have to apply to something,” he said.
