BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 91
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 91 (Portantino)
As Introduced January 10, 2011
Majority vote
HIGHER EDUCATION 9-0 APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
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|Ayes:|Block, Donnelly, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Harkey, |
| |Achadjian, Brownley, | |Blumenfield, Bradford, |
| |Fong, Galgiani, Lara, | |Charles Calderon, Campos, |
| |Miller, Portantino | |Davis, Donnelly, Gatto, |
| | | |Hall, Hill, Lara, |
| | | |Mitchell, Nielsen, Norby, |
| | | |Solorio, Wagner |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : 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); and,
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
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regarding statewide expansion.
4)Repeals these provisions as of January 1, 2015.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, 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.
COMMENTS : 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.
Analysis Prepared by : Sandra Fried / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960
FN: 0000899
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