BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Alan Lowenthal, Chair
2011-2012 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 91
AUTHOR: Portantino
INTRODUCED: January 10, 2011
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: June 22, 2011
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:Kathleen Chavira
SUBJECT : Community College Financial Aid.
SUMMARY
This bill requires the California Community College
Chancellor's Office (CCCCO) to establish a voluntary pilot
program to increase student participation in state and
federal financial aid programs, outlines the parameters of
the pilot, and requires the Legislative Analyst's Office
(LAO) to report to the Legislature on the results of the
pilot program and to make recommendations for its statewide
expansion.
BACKGROUND
Current law provides for a variety of student financial aid
programs including the Cal Grant programs and the Community
College Board of Governors (BOG) Fee Waiver Program. Current
law requires that eligibility for a Cal Grant and the
determination of financial need be accomplished using the
federal financial need methodology and application (the
Federal Application for Student Assistance, or FAFSA), and
that this application be used for all programs funded by the
state or a public institution of post-secondary education as
well as all federal programs administered by a postsecondary
educational institution. Current law makes an exception to
this requirement for the BOG Fee Waiver Program which is
authorized to use a simplified application designed for that
sole purpose.
(Education Code § 69432.9, § 69433)
Current law requires the CCCCO to develop a statement that
individual students will be asked to sign, which acknowledges
that federal and state funds are available to assist with the
costs of college and that information regarding these
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programs, and assistance in applying for those funds can be
obtained at the financial aid office. The Chancellor is
required to request the colleges to require students to sign
this acknowledgment in the application for enrollment at all
campuses of the California Community Colleges.
Current law also requires the CCCCO to develop a statement to
individual students receiving the BOG Fee Waiver, who did not
apply for federal student aid, informing them about the
benefits of the federal programs, the application process,
and the availability of assistance to apply for these
programs. Current law also requires the CCCCO to request
colleges to provide this statement to all students who meet
this description. (EC § 76071)
ANALYSIS
This bill :
1) Requires the CCCCO to establish a voluntary pilot
program to increase student participation in state and
federal financial aid programs. More specifically it:
a) Requires the Chancellor to select no
more than 10 campuses from those that volunteer to
participate.
b) Requires, to the extent possible,
that the geographic, economic and demographic
diversity of participating campuses be ensured.
c) Establishes the following two target
populations of potentially eligible students to be
identified for participation in the pilot program:
i) Those who complete an
application for a BOG fee waiver but do not
complete a FAFSA.
ii) Those who do not receive any campus,
state, or federal aid.
d) Establishes the goal of the pilot
program to increase student participation in both
state and federal financial aid programs by actions
that include, but are not limited to:
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i) Identifying strategies
and best practices for increasing the number
of students who submit the Free Application
for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
ii) Examining and developing strategies
for increasing student participation in
financial aid programs beyond the BOG Fee
Waiver program.
2) Encourages the CCCCO to pursue both private and federal
funding to support implementation and operation of the
pilot program.
3) Requires the CCCCO to provide information on the
strategies and techniques employed by participating
campuses and data on student participation in state and
federal financial aid programs to the Legislative
Analyst's Office (LAO) by January 10, 2014.
4) Requires the LAO, based upon the information received,
to:
a) Report to the Legislature on the
results of the pilot program.
b) Make recommendations for statewide
expansion of the pilot.
c) Include in its report a statistical
analysis of financial aid applications and awards
before and after the pilot program and a summary of
the major strategies and techniques employed by
participating campuses.
5) Repeals these provisions as of January 1, 2015.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill . Several recent reports have
highlighted the fact that CCC students are not receiving
all of the federal financial aid support that is
available to them. A research brief issued by MPR
Associates, Inc. in October 2009 (and based upon 2006-07
enrollment data) noted that fewer than 230,000 (about 10
percent) of degree seeking students at the CCC received
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federal Pell Grants. The most common form of financial
aid was a BOG fee waiver, given to 540,000 students (26
percent of enrolled students). About 305,000 of these
students received only a fee waiver and of those,
110,000 applied for federal aid but did not receive it
with the most common reasons for not qualifying being 1)
they were part-time, 2) their income or expected family
contribution was too high, or 3) they did not meet
citizenship, academic, or other requirements for federal
financial aid.
This bill attempts to gather specific information on the
reasons and strategies specific to California's students
and community colleges to determine why California
community college students do not submit the FAFSA in
greater numbers and to identify intervention strategies
to increase their participation in state and federal
financial aid programs.
2) What is the Pell Grant program ? The federal Pell Grant
program provides need-based grants to low-income
undergraduates (and certain post baccalaureate students)
to promote access to postsecondary education. Grant
amounts are dependent on: the student's expected family
contribution; the cost of attendance (as determined by
the institution); the student's enrollment status
(full-time or part-time); and whether the student
attends for a full academic year or less. Financial
need is determined using a standard formula based on
information reported by the applicant on the FAFSA.
Students must file a FAFSA in order to receive a Pell
Grant. For 2010-11, the maximum amount for a Pell Grant
will be $5,550, and beginning in 2013-14, will be
adjusted based upon the Consumer Price Index. The actual
amount of a Pell Grant will vary from student to student
depending on their specific circumstances.
3) Why a pilot program ? Much of the information being
disseminated on potential Pell Grant participation at
the California Community Colleges and projections
regarding the amount of potential Pell Grant dollars
"left on the table" derive from assumptions based upon
national, rather than California-specific information
and data. A pilot program would allow for closer
examination of the unique student population served by
the California Community Colleges in order to identify
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best practices for ensuring the colleges' commitment to
access while maximizing the potential for California
students to benefit from federal financial aid programs.
4) Why these specific target populations ? According to the
MPR research brief, almost 80 percent of BOG fee waiver
recipients (431,000) qualified because they filed a
FAFSA and were found to have financial need according to
the federal formula (i.e. 80 percent of BOG waiver
recipients completed the FAFSA). The remaining 20
percent (111,000) received a BOG waiver using the
simplified form. The research brief notes that many of
these students may have been ineligible for federal
financial aid. It also identifies over 1.5 million
students within the community colleges who receive no
financial aid at all. This bill creates a pilot program
that focuses upon students potentially eligible for
federal financial aid within two groups; 1) BOG Fee
Waiver recipients who do not submit a FAFSA and 2) other
enrolled students who do not apply for any campus state
or federal assistance.
5) Other relevant research findings . In May 2010, the
College Board released its report, The Financial Aid
Challenge: Successful Practices that Address the
Underutilization of Financial Aid in Community Colleges.
The report noted that in 2007-08, nationally, only 57.8
percent of Pell-eligible students who attended community
colleges (full-time or part-time) applied for federal
financial aid, versus 76.8 percent of Pell-eligible
students at four-year public institutions. The stated
goal of the report was to identify successful practices
that increase FAFSA filing rates and to help more
community college students receive financial aid. Among
the report recommendations was a list of steps which
could be taken on community college campuses which
included, among other things:
a) Providing bilingual services and materials.
b) Offering evening and weekend office hours.
c) Use of multi-language media, online resources
and local opinion leaders to drive awareness.
d) Linking financial aid application and
follow-up with college enrollment and registration.
e) Communicating financial aid opportunities in a
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culturally and linguistically appropriate manner.
f) Partnering with other education institutions
or community organization to offer financial aid
counseling to all students.
g) Surveying potential students to learn where
students get information about the community
college and what they know about financial aid
prior to enrolling.
h) Consolidation of resources with area community
colleges or across the state to establish a common
system for financial aid administration.
6) Prior Legislation . AB 1997 (Portantino, 2010), as heard
by this Committee in June 2010, was nearly identical to
this bill. AB 1997 was ultimately vetoed by Governor
Schwarzenegger whose message read, in pertinent part:
This bill is unnecessary. Nothing under current
law prohibits the California Community College
Chancellor's Office from working with local
community colleges to meet the objectives of this
bill. Furthermore, the annual budget act was
augmented several years ago to provide the
community colleges an additional $34.2 million for
financial aid outreach efforts that were expected
to assist students with maximizing federal and
state financial aid.
SUPPORT
Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges
San Bernardino Community College District
Community College League of California
California Postsecondary Education Commission
Kern Community College District
Los Angeles Community College District
Los Rios Community College District
West Kern Community College District
Yosemite Community College District
OPPOSITION
None received.
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