BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1997
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 4, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Marty Block, Chair
AB 1997 (Portantino) - As Amended: March 17, 2010
SUBJECT : Community colleges: student financial aid programs:
application forms.
SUMMARY : Authorizes the California Community Colleges (CCC) to
use the Free Application for Federal Student Financial Aid
(FAFSA) when awarding the CCC Board of Governors (BOG) fee
waiver to students, except on a case-by-case basis as determined
by a campus authority with responsibility for student financial
aid programs.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires a single standardized financial aid application form
be utilized for all state, federal, and institutional
financial aid programs, and specifies that the form shall be
simple in nature and collect data elements required by the
federal government and those elements needed to met the
objectives of State-funded and institutional financial aid
programs.
2)Authorizes CCC to use a simplified application form (Short
Form) designated solely for the purpose of awarding the BOG
fee waiver.
FISCAL EFFECT : None. This bill is keyed non-fiscal.
COMMENTS : Background : The FAFSA is the core document used to
determine eligibility for all major federal and state financial
aid programs, including Cal Grant, Pell Grant, institutional aid
at the University of California and the California State
University, work-study awards, scholarships, and federal student
loans. The BOG fee waiver provides relief from CCC fees for
financially needy students. Approximately 900,000 (30% of) CCC
students receive a BOG fee waiver. Only legal California
residents are eligible for a BOG fee waiver. A CCC student may
apply for a BOG fee waiver by submitting a FAFSA or by
submitting a Short Form.
Purpose of this bill : According to the author, the Institute
AB 1997
Page 2
for College Success & Access recently found that only 33% of CCC
students apply for federal financial aid, compared to 46% of
community college students in other states. Regardless of
family income or many other important characteristics, CCC
students are less likely than those in other states to complete
the FAFSA. Hence, CCC students leave $500 million in federal
aid on the table-aid that can help these students attain their
educational goals by requiring them to work less and/or take out
fewer loans. Further, the author argues that the Short Form has
served a decreasingly valuable purpose, since the conditions
that led to its creation no longer exist as a result of the
simplification of the FAFSA and immediate electronic
notification of eligibility results.
Is the Short Form necessary ? When CCC fee requirements began in
the 1980s, statutory authority was given to CCC to award fee
waivers, and the CCC Chancellor's Office developed the Short
Form in order to provide rapid relief from fee payment for low
income students. At that time, the federal and state
application processes were much slower, relied upon a cumbersome
paper system, and were significantly more complex. The Short
Form was necessary to provide immediate access to enrollment.
However, the FAFSA has changed: eligibility results are
electronic and immediately transmitted, and the FAFSA has been
greatly simplified, collecting virtually the same information as
the Short Form.
How would this bill work ? There are three eligibility
components to the BOG fee waiver. Part A is for students
receiving benefits under the Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families program, the Supplemental Security Income program,
and/or General Assistance. Part B is for students who meet
strict low income criteria (generally 150% of the United States
Department of Health and Human Services Poverty Guidelines), and
Part C provides fee waivers to every student who demonstrates
financial need. While CCC encourages students who are eligible
under Part A or Part B to complete the FAFSA, students are not
required to do so, and they often use the Short Form instead.
However, students who apply for a BOG fee waiver under Part C
must complete the FAFSA. Thus, this bill would require the same
application form and process for all students applying for a BOG
fee waiver, regardless of whether they are in Part A, B, or C.
Case-by-case exceptions : The discretion to use the Short Form
that this bill provides mirrors the discretion provided under
AB 1997
Page 3
federal law, which allows forms other than the FAFSA to be used
on a case-by-case basis with justification and documentation
where appropriate. Possible exceptions could include students
who are dependent for financial aid purposes but for whom
parental contact is impossible or unsafe, so they do not want to
ask their parents to complete the parent income information on
the FAFSA. The campus financial aid administrator would have
the discretion to use the Short Form if it is in the student's
best interests, so long as the financial aid officer documents
and reports the exception to the CCC Chancellor's Office.
Student success : The Institute for Higher Education Leadership
& Policy (IHELP) in its report, Rules of the Game: Barriers to
Completion (February 2007), found that enrollment patterns are
related to student success. In particular, completion was more
likely among those who: attended full time in a majority of
terms enrolled; enrolled continuously without taking time off;
completed an orientation course; dropped few of their courses;
or registered on time for most of their courses. Only about 33%
of students enrolled full time (12+ units) in a majority of the
terms they attended, yet these students were four times more
likely to complete than the two-thirds who enrolled part-time in
most terms.
According to IHELP, "Because access to the CCC has been
historically framed around low fees, financial aid policy has
emphasized low fees and fee waivers, rather than overall college
affordability. This gives students a false sense of opportunity
since fees account for only 5% to 7% of the total cost of
college attendance (items like room, board, textbooks,
childcare, and transportation need to be considered). Students
are advised to apply for fee waivers but efforts to steer them
to other forms of federal and state aid fall short, leaving
California's community college students with more unmet need
(after financial aid) than community college students
nationally. With inadequate financial aid, students work more
hours and attend on a more part-time basis, both of which are
factors in low completion."
Previous legislation : AB 668 (Portantino), Chapter 607,
Statutes of 2007, requires CCC to develop statements for
students regarding the availability of federal financial aid.
As introduced, this bill would have provided a financial
incentive to CCC campuses for every student who received a Pell
Grant.
AB 1997
Page 4
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file.
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Sandra Fried / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960