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Shaky
future for Cal Grants
By
Gerry Wachovsky
Online Forty-Niner
With
California still feeling the tightening
grip of the budget crisis, certain programs,
many of which involve higher education,
are still on the brink. One such program
that helps underprivileged students pay
for college had an especially shaky future
but now seems to have gotten a new lease
on life.
California
Grants is a program in which money is awarded
to students who meet financial requirements
and maintain a certain GPA. This program
is not a loan – it is, essentially
free money which does not have to be repaid,
and can be used at any institution of higher
learning, as well as some trade schools
in the state of California. The money for
Cal grants comes from the state and is then
doled out to students by the California
Student Aid Commission (CSAC).
Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, in his proposed January
budget, outlined several possible changes
the Cal Grants program would face: UC-students
would receive no more than $4,984 a year
for college and CSU students would receive
no more than $2,046 a year (the 2003-04
levels); 4,450 eligible students would not
receive grants, due to reduced household
income ceilings; and the maximum award of
$9,708 a year for college would be reduced
by 44 percent to $5,482 a year for college.
The
governor revised this budget in May, where
he proposed reducing the number of awards
CSAC can issue by over 5,500, which is approximately
$5.4 million in losses.
On
May 27 the Senate and Assembly Budget Subcommittees
rejected several of the proposals the governor
introduced, including the change in income
ceilings, the reduction in the size of the
maximum award and the reduction of the number
of awards CSAC could issue. It also increased
the program by $34.2 million to allow for
the growth in new beneficiaries of the award.
A
recent study performed by CSAC and EDFUND
(a financial aid provider) confirms "that
Cal Grant recipients were much more likely
to re-enroll in college for second and subsequent
years than those who didn't receive a Cal
Grant."
According
to Diana Fuentes-Michel, CSAC's executive
director, "This report and its supporting
research confirm what financial aid advocates
in California have been saying for years:
Cal Grants work. Student financial aid in
general – and the Cal Grant program
in particular – literally change lives."
The
study goes on to say that "96.5 percent
of Cal Grant A recipients re-enrolled for
a second year [but] perhaps even more remarkable,
93 percent of Cal Grant B recipients –
students from very disadvantaged backgrounds
– re-enrolled for a second year."
"The
study provides evidence that the state's
investment in Cal Grants is paying off,"
Fuentes-Michel said. "Students are
realizing their college aspirations and
persisting to the completion of their education.
Cal Grants help today's students become
tomorrow's productive participants in the
state and national economies."
Becky
Stilling, president of EDFUND, in response
to the study, said that re-enrollment among
financial aid recipients was "more
than anyone originally thought," and
that "students enrolling in college
today are sticking with their studies and
pursuing their goals with real determination."
More
information about Cal Grants can be found
at http://www.calgrants.org.
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