More People Going Back For GEDs

Jobs are harder to come by these days, especially for people who didn't finish high school, so more of them are doing something about it and as FOX 7’s Lauren Petrowski found out, that's leading to some crowded classrooms.

Many schools that provide GED prep classes are not able to meet the demand. In response to all this, there's a bill in the Texas Senate that would increase funding for adult education and improve career training programs around the state.

After being out of school for 11 years, 28-year-old Nicole Cruse is back in the classroom. She's taking classes through Austin Community College to earn her general education development certificate.

Nicole dropped out of high school her senior year. After having three kids she decided to do this for them.

“I recently became a single mom and I've got kids I need to take care of and a career that would get me through life and help support them,” Cruse said.

Each year, about 1000 students enroll in GED prep classes through ACC. This year, officials at the college say there's been a greater interest.

Once the classes reach capacity, officials are turning away more and more students. During February's orientation, about 140 students were turned away. Last month, it was close to 200.

“The capacity issue keeps us from being able to expand, so even though we have more interest, we don't have any more services,” said an ACC representative.

ACC's executive director of adult education believes the increase is due to the economy.

“I think the economy is definitely part of it, people are getting laid off and the job they used to do, they can't do it anymore without that credential, they have to have that GED to get the same job they've been doing,” an ACC representative said. “They're coming here to be able to compete with other job applicants.”

Right now acc has about 40 GED classes going on at one time. School officials hope to add more classes to meet the rising demand. Students turned away from ACC classes are sent to other programs around town, but those too have been filling up quickly.

To find other ways the economy is affecting people, and for job search and money-saving ideas, click on the "money wise" link.