BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 91
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Date of Hearing: April 13, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 91 (Portantino) - As Introduced: January 10, 2011
Policy Committee: Higher
EducationVote:9-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill establishes a three-year pilot program to increase
participation among community college students and state and
federal financial aid programs. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires the Chancellor's Office of the California Community
Colleges (CCCCO) to establish the pilot program and select up
to 10 community college campuses to voluntarily participate in
the program.
2)States that the particular goals of the pilot program include:
a) Identifying best practices for increasing the number of
students who complete a Free Application for Federal
Student Aid (FAFSA).
b) Developing strategies for increasing student
participation in financial aid beyond just the CCC Board of
Governor's student fee waiver (BOG waiver).
c) Encouraging the CCCCO to pursue private and federal
funding to support the pilot program.
3)Requires the CCCCO to provide specified information and data
on the pilot program to the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO)
by January 10, 2013, and requires the LAO to report to the
Legislature on the results of the program and recommendations
regarding statewide expansion.
FISCAL EFFECT
AB 91
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Assuming 10 participating campuses are representative of the
entire system, and assuming increases, by the third year of the
pilot program, in new financial aid awards to students at these
campuses of 10% for the High School Entitlement Cal Grant B and
5% for the Transfer Entitlement Cal Grant A and B, General Fund
costs would be about $200,000 in 2013-14 and about $600,000 in
2014-15.
To the extent the pilot program leads to increases in federal
financial aid awards to students at the participating colleges,
and further implementation leads to increased state and federal
financial aid awards to students throughout the community
college system, this could result in overall gains in student
success and reductions in the average time for students to
complete their educational goals, with resulting efficiency
benefits to CCC.
COMMENTS
1)Background and Purpose . The FAFSA is used to determine
eligibility for all major federal and state financial aid
programs, including Cal Grants, Pell Grants, institutional aid
at the University of California and the California State
University, work-study awards, scholarships, and federal
student loans. Approximately 900,000 CCC students receive a
BOG fee waiver, based on their financial need. A CCC student
may apply for a BOG fee waiver by submitting a FAFSA or by
submitting a simple short form.
Studies have shown that CCC students are the least likely to
take full advantage of federal financial aid opportunities,
and are thus not accessing an estimated $500 million in
federal aid annually. Moreover, a recent study by the
Institute for Higher Education Policy and Leadership found
that enrollment patterns are related to student success,
specifically that success was in part more likely for students
who attended full-time and enrolled continuously without
taking time off. To the extent students are unable to enroll
in this manner due to their financial circumstances, getting
more students the state and/or federal financial aid for which
they are otherwise eligible should increase overall student
success rates and shorten completion time, thus freeing up
community college enrollment slots for other students.
2)Prior Legislation . In 2010, and identical bill, AB 1997
AB 91
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(Portantino), was vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger, who
argued that the bill was unnecessary, because the Chancellor's
Office could work with the districts to meet the objectives of
this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081