BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SB 1314
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|Author: |Block |
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|Version: |February 19, 2016 Hearing |
| |Date: March 30, 2016 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Olgalilia Ramirez |
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Subject: Cal Grant A Entitlement Program
SUMMARY
This bill clarifies Cal Grant A Entitlement award eligibility
for community college students participating in specified
baccalaureate degree programs.
BACKGROUND
Existing law authorizes the Cal Grant program, administered by
the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC), to provide grants
to financially needy students to attend a college or university.
The Cal Grant programs include both the entitlement and the
competitive Cal Grant awards. The program consists of the Cal
Grant A, Cal Grant B, and Cal Grant C programs and eligibility
is based upon financial need, GPA, California residency and
other criteria. (Education Code § 69430 - 69433)
Existing law establishes the Cal Grant A entitlement award to be
used for tuition or fees for the equivalent of four full-time
years at qualifying postsecondary institutions to eligible lower
and middle income high school graduates who have at least a 3.0
GPA on a four-point scale and apply within one year of
graduation. A Cal Grant A recipient who decides to attend a
California community college may elect to have the award held in
"reserve" for a period not to exceed two years. (EC § 69434 and
69434.5)
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Existing law requires the Board of Governors (BOG) to charge
each student a $46 per unit per semester fee. Existing law
requires a waiver (BOG waiver) of these fees for certain
students including a student who meets specified income
requirements.
(EC § 76300)
Existing law authorizes the California Community Colleges (CCC)
Board of Governors (BOG), in consultation with the California
State University (CSU) and the University of California (UC), to
establish a statewide baccalaureate degree pilot program at not
more than 15 CCC districts, as specified. In addition to the $46
per unit enrollment fee authorized pursuant to EC 76300,
districts are authorized to charge an $84 per unit fee for upper
division coursework in a baccalaureate degree pilot program.
(EC § 78040 - 78042)
ANALYSIS
This bill clarifies that a community college student
participating in a community college baccalaureate degree pilot
program who meets Cal Grant A entitlement program criteria is
able to receive a Cal Grant A for tuition and fees.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill. SB 850 (Chapter 747, statutes of 2014)
authorized California Community Colleges (CCC) to establish
a baccalaureate degree pilot program. According to the
author, the California Student Aid Commission has opined
that, under existing law, it is unclear whether community
college students enrolled in these new programs could
receive Cal Grant A assistance for upper division
coursework fees at a CCC.
2) Why is there a lack of clarity? Community College students
who are Cal Grant recipients would typically have the
community college enrollment fee waived through the Board
of Governors (BOG) fee waiver program. Community college
students who receive the Cal Grant A award would normally
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have their award held in reserve for up to two years until
the student transfers to a four-year institution, at which
time the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) would
disburse the Cal Grant A award.
According to CSAC, Cal Grant A funds have never been
disbursed to a community college student since all
community college fees up to this point would be covered by
the BOG fee waiver. The CSAC believe that they must be
provided clear authority to disburse Cal Grant A
Entitlement award funds to a community college student for
purposes of paying the upper division fee with Cal Grant
monies.
This bill would ensure that community college students who
meet the Cal Grant A program requirements receive
assistance to cover fees established for upper division
courses in the baccalaureate degree pilot program. However,
as currently drafted the bill could be interpreted to
authorize the use of Cal Grant A funds to pay both the $46
enrollment fee and the $84 dollar upper division coursework
fee. Staff recommends an amendment to clarify that these
students are eligible for Cal Grant A for purposes of upper
division course fees.
3) Why is this not an issue for Cal Grant B students? Unlike
Cal Grant A students, Cal Grant B students at a community
college receive an access award. However, similar to the
Cal Grant A award, the portion of the Cal Grant B award
that covers tuition and fees is typically waived through
the BOG waiver. Presumably, a Cal Grant B access award
could be disbursed to students beyond two years even if
tuition is not. It's unclear whether the CSAC or CCC would
interpret the authority to also pay tuition for the upper
division coursework fee. Neither CSAC nor CCC was able to
provide clarification at the time this analysis was
written. The author may want to clarify this question as
the bill progresses.
4) Fiscal impact. The pilot degree program is currently
limited to 15 community college districts with one
baccalaureate degree program authorized at each
participating district. A student enrolled in the pilot
program cannot be charged fees greater than the mandatory
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systemwide fee charged for California State University
baccalaureate degree programs. Students must complete their
degree by the end of 2022 - 2023 academic year as the
program is scheduled to sunset July 1, 2023. Arguably, if
these students had gained access to an eligible four-year
institution like UC or CSU the overall fees would be
greater than fees for the CCC baccalaureate program.
SUPPORT
Community College League of California
Foothill-De Anza County Community College District
Kern County Community College District
San Diego County Community College District
OPPOSITION
None received.
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