BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
SB 1314 (Block) - Cal Grant A Entitlement Program
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|Version: April 6, 2016 |Policy Vote: ED. 8 - 0 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: No |
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|Hearing Date: April 25, 2016 |Consultant: Jillian Kissee |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: This bill provides that community college students
participating in the baccalaureate degree pilot program who
satisfy specified program eligibility criteria, shall receive a
Cal Grant A and B Entitlement award, the California Community
College Transfer Entitlement Award, the Competitive Cal Grant A
and B Awards, and the Middle Class Scholarship.
Fiscal
Impact:
Grant awards: The California Student Aid Commission (CSAC)
estimates costs in the low millions annually to apply the Cal
Grant program and Middle Class Scholarship awards to eligible
students participating in the community college baccalaureate
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degree pilot program. This estimate includes $1.4 million for
the 2016-17 fiscal year; $2.7 million in the 2017-18 fiscal
year; and $3.1 million in the 2018-19 fiscal year. Costs will
persist for the length of the program. (General Fund)
Administrative costs: The CSAC anticipates the need for one
position to implement the requirements of this bill which will
likely cost approximately $90,000. Additional unknown costs
related to contracting for programming services are cited by
the CSAC to make necessary changes in the grant delivery
system. (General Fund)
Cost Pressures: Additional substantial cost pressures to
extend these awards to students on an ongoing basis if the
pilot expands to all community college districts and becomes
its own program.
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)
Current law establishes the maximum Cal Grant B award for a
qualified student equal to the mandatory systemwide fees in the
segment attended by the student, except for community college
students who receive waivers from the Board of Governors of the
CCC, plus the access award, except that in the first year of
enrollment in a qualifying institution, the maximum award shall
be only for the amount of the access award. (ECS 66021.2)
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The Community College Transfer Program provides a Cal Grant A or
B to eligible high school graduates who have a community college
GPA of at least 2.4 on a four point scale and transfer to a
qualifying baccalaureate degree granting college or university.
The Cal Grant Competitive Award Program provides 22,500 Cal
Grant A and B awards available to applicants who meet financial,
academic, and general program eligibility requirements. Half of
these awards are reserved for students enrolled at a community
college and who met the September 2 application deadline.
The Middle Class Scholarship Program provides that an
undergraduate student enrolled at the UC or CSU and meets
certain requirements, is eligible for a scholarship award, that
combined with other grants and fee waivers, as specified, totals
up to 40 percent of the systemwide tuition and fees. To
qualify, a student is required to have an annual household
income that does not exceed $150,000, as adjusted for changes in
cost of living, satisfies specified requirements for the Cal
Grant award, maintain at least a 2.0 grade point average, and
meet other requirements. Existing law requires the UC and the
CSU to provide the CSAC with any financial aid data that are
necessary for the determination of award amounts.
SB 850 (Chapter 747, 2014) 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).
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)
Proposed Law:
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This bill establishes that the maximum Cal Grant B award for a
student who is attending the UC, the CSU, or the CCC when not
enrolled in upper division coursework as equal to the mandatory
systemwide fees in the segment attended by the student, plus the
access award, except that in the first year of enrollment in a
qualifying institution, the maximum award shall only be for the
amount of the access award.
This bill establishes the maximum Cal Grant A and B award for a
community college student enrolled in upper division coursework
of a baccalaureate program described in SB 850, equal to the per
unit fees charged for the upper division coursework for the
academic term, and for the Cal Grant B award, plus the access
award. It requires a community college student participating in
the baccalaureate degree program who meets the Cal Grant A
Entitlement Program criteria, as specified in current law, shall
receive a Cal Grant A award for upper division coursework fees.
Similarly, the bill requires a student, including a community
college student participating in upper division coursework in a
baccalaureate degree program pursuant to SB 850, who meets the
Cal Grant B Entitlement or Competitive Program criteria, to
receive a Cal Grant B award for access costs and tuition and
fees, as applicable.
This bill provides that a student upon matriculation into the
upper division coursework of a community college baccalaureate
program described in SB 850 that meets all of the required
criteria is entitled to a Cal Grant A or B award.
This bill, subject to an appropriation, deems a community
college student enrolled in upper division course work of a
community college baccalaureate program, as described by SB 850,
who meets specified requirements, is eligible for a Middle Class
Scholarship. It provides that each academic year, except as
specified, an eligible student shall receive a scholarship award
in the amount that, combined with other student grants or fee
waivers, is up to 40 percent of the amount charged to that
student in upper division fees for a community college
baccalaureate degree program for eligible community college
students, if all requirements are met. This bill allows the
scholarship to be renewed for two years of full-time upper
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division coursework attendance in the community college
baccalaureate degree program, for a community college award
recipient. Finally, the bill requires the Chancellor's Office
of the CCC to provide the CSAC with any financial aid data that
are necessary for the determination of a sufficient amount, as
specified, to provide scholarships to eligible students.
Staff Comments:
The award estimate assumes 381 recipients in 2016-17; 702
recipients in 2017-18; and 803 recipients in 2018-19. The CCC
baccalaureate program is scheduled to sunset July 1, 2023.
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