AB 2822, as amended, Chiu. Student financial aid: Student Success and Support Program: emergency student financial assistance.
Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education in this state. Existing law, known as the Seymour-Campbell Student Success Act of 2012, defines “matriculation” as a process that brings a college and a student who enrolls for credit into an agreement for the purpose of realizing the student’s educational objectives. The act specifies the matriculation services that community colleges are required to provide.
This bill would authorize the use of Student Success and Support Program funds for the provision of emergency student financial assistance, as defined, to eligible students, as defined,begin insert to overcome unforeseen financial challenges, as specified, that would directly impact a student’s ability to persist in his or her course of study,end insert if emergency student financial assistance is included in an institution’s plan for interventions to students.begin insert The bill would authorize no more than 3% of the total funding that a community college district or campus receives for the Student Success and Support Program to be used for the provision of emergency student financial assistance.end insert
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
begin insertThe Legislature finds and declares all of the
2following:end insert
3
(a) Given the need to improve community college student
4outcomes, the Legislature required the California Community
5Colleges to develop plans to improve student success through the
6Seymour-Campbell Student Success Act of 2012 (Article 1
7(commencing with Section 78210) of Chapter 2 of Part 48 of
8Division 7 of Title 3 of the Education Code).
9
(b) Research indicates that students’ ability to pay for nontuition
10costs plays a major role in determining the outcomes of their
11academic careers and impacts student success. Unexpected
12financial emergencies can play a major role when community
13college students drop out of school.
14
(c) Emergency aid is an effective strategy to retain students and
15ultimately improve graduation rates and overall student success.
16Emergency aid provides the flexibility needed to respond to a
17student’s unexpected financial emergency that may arise during
18the academic year. Emergency aid is a critical tool for student
19retention and persistence that is most effective as a part of a
20broader set of student success efforts.
21
(d) It is in the interest of the state to reduce the attrition rates
22of full-time students. Nationally, billions of dollars are lost when
23full-time students do not return in what would be their second year
24of college. California has lost more than one hundred million
25dollars ($100,000,000) in state and federal funding due to first-year
26attrition. Emergency aid is an efficient investment that addresses
27student attrition while only providing small dollar grants when a
28student is in crisis. With this type of well-timed aid, students are
29more likely to complete the academic term and re-enroll for the
30next term.
P3 1
(e) A well-educated citizenry provides tremendous benefits to
2the state as higher educational attainment is connected with higher
3earnings, which produce more tax revenue
and lower the cost of
4social services.
Section 78212 of the Education Code is amended to
7read:
(a) (1) For purposes of this article, “matriculation”
9means a process that brings a college and a student into an
10agreement for the purpose of achieving the student’s educational
11goals and completing the student’s course of study. The agreement
12involves the responsibilities of both parties to attain those
13objectives through the college’s established programs, policies,
14and requirements including those established by the board of
15governors pursuant to Section 78215.
16(2) The institution’s responsibility under the agreement includes
17the provision of student services to provide a strong foundation
18and support for their academic success and ability to achieve their
19educational
goals. The program of services funded through the
20Seymour-Campbell Student Success Act of 2012, which shall be
21known and may be cited as the Student Success and Support
22Program, shall include, but are not necessarily limited to, all of
23the following:
24(A) Orientation services designed to provide to students, on a
25timely basis, information concerning campus procedures, academic
26expectations, financial assistance, and any other matters the college
27or district finds appropriate.
28(B) Assessment before course registration, as defined in Section
2978213.
30(C) Counseling and other education planning services, which
31shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, all of the following:
32(i) Counseling and advising.
33(ii) Assistance to students in the exploration of educational and
34career interests and aptitudes and identification of educational
35objectives, including, but notbegin insert necessarilyend insert limited to, preparation
36for transfer, associate degrees, and career technical education
37certificates and licenses.
38(iii) The provision of information, guided by sound counseling
39principles and practices, using a broad array of delivery
40mechanisms, including technology-based strategies to serve a
P4 1continuum of student needs and abilities, that will enable students
2to make informed choices.
3(iv) Development of an
education plan leading to a course of
4study and guidance on course selection that is informed by, and
5related to, a student’s academic and career goals.
6(D) Referral to specialized support services as needed and
7available, including, but not necessarily limited to, federal, state,
8and local financial assistance; health services; career services;
9veteran support services; foster youth services; extended
10opportunity programs and services provided pursuant to Article 8
11(commencing with Section 69640) of Chapter 2 of Part 42 of
12Division 5; campus child care services provided pursuant to Article
136 (commencing with Section 66060) of Chapter 2 of Part 40 of
14Division 5; programs that teach basic skills education and English
15as a second language; and disabled student services provided
16pursuant to Chapter 14 (commencing with Section 67300) of
Part
1740 of Division 5.
18(E) Evaluation of each student’s progress and referral to
19appropriate interventions for students who are enrolled in basic
20skills courses, who have not declared an educational goal as
21required, or who are on academic probation, as defined by
22standards adopted by the Board of Governors of the California
23Community Colleges and community college districts.
24(3) The student’s responsibilities under the agreement include,
25but are not necessarily limited to, the identification of an academic
26and career goal upon application, the declaration of a specific
27course of study after a specified time period or unit accumulation,
28as defined by the board of governors, diligence in class attendance
29and completion of assigned coursework, and the completion of
30courses
and maintenance of academic progress toward an
31educational goal and course of study identified in the student’s
32education plan. To ensure that students are not unfairly impacted
33by the requirements of this chapter, the board of governors shall
34establish a reasonable implementation period that is phased in as
35resources are available to provide nonexempt students with the
36core services pursuant to this section.
37(b) Funding for the Student Success and Support Program shall
38be targeted to fully implement orientation, assessment, counseling
39and advising, and other education planning services needed to
40assist a student in making an informed decision about his or her
P5 1educational goal and course of study and in the development of
2an education plan.
3(c) (1) Funding
for the Student Success and Support Program
4may be used for provision of emergency student financial
5assistance to help eligible students to overcome unforeseen
6financialbegin delete challenges, including, butend deletebegin insert challenges that would directly
7impact the student’s ability to persist in his or her course of study.
8These challenges include, but areend insert not necessarily limited to, the
9immediate need for shelter or food.begin insert Each community college district
10and campus is encouraged to consider the unique characteristics
11of its student body in developing specific guidelines for further
12defining what constitutes an unforeseen financial challenge for its
13students.end insert
14(2) In order for emergency student financial assistance to be an
15allowable use of Student Success and Support Program funds,
16emergency student financial assistance shall be included in the
17institution’s plan for interventions to students.
18(3) For purposes of this subdivision, the following terms are
19defined as follows:
20(A) “Eligible student” means a student who has experienced an
21unforeseen financial challenge, who currently meets satisfactory
22academic progress of the institution he or she attends, and who is
23at risk of not persisting in his or her course of study due to the
24unforeseen financial challenge.
25(B) “Emergency student financial assistance” means financial
26support in the form of financial assistance
to support a student to
27help overcome unforeseen financial challenges so that the student
28can continue his or her course of study.
29
(4) No more than 3 percent of the total funding that a community
30college district or campus receives for the Student Success and
31Support Program may be used for the provision of emergency
32student financial assistance.
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