With the recent budget cuts, students at Fresno City College are scrambling to find a way to pay for their education and are seeking refuge in the Financial Aid office.
Kira Tippins, director of Financial Aid, said that more than 60 percent of the student population is receiving, at least, a Board of Governors (BOG) fee waiver which pays the full cost of tuition. However, the cuts and proposals at the state level could greatly impact students this year.
The most significant change that BOG fee waiver recipients now face is the increase in the minimum need required to be eligible for the award.
When the students fill out their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), they get an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) value. Factors like the size of the household, the income level of the student and parents, the amount of taxes paid, and parents’ age determine the EFC number.
“That EFC is then used against the cost of attendance,” said Tippins.
The cost of attendance depends on whether the student is going to school full-time or part-time, lives with or without parents as well as other expenses related to college education. So, the need is calculated by subtracting the EFC from the cost of attendance.
Before July 1, 2012, the students only had to show at least $1 of need to pay for their education. Now, they won’t receive a BOG fee waiver unless their need is $1,104 or greater.
Tippins said this change was made because many students who didn’t have needs were dropping classes and still receiving the waiver.
BOG fee waiver recipients will also have to maintain at least a 2.0 GPA to stay eligible after Gov. Brown signs SB 1456, the Student Success Act 2012. The California Senate has already adopted an amended version in the SB 1456 which was introduced by Sen. Lowenthal on Thursday, Aug. 30.
“That’s the big change that would cause 40 percent of our current BOG students to lose their eligibility because they don’t have a GED,” said Tippins.
This would drop the percentage of FCC students receiving aid from 60 percent to 20 percent.
“This sounds terrible,” said FCC nursing student Jay Siphanhtong. “I don’t have a steady job, and if I lose my BOG fee waiver, I don’t know how I’m going to pay for school.”
The Student Success Act 2012 has also introduced some innovations to improve the services of financial aid offices throughout the state.
“The Legislature clearly recognized that this bill is important; policy changes will put more students on the path to completing their educational goals and will make California more competitive economically,” Jack Scott, chancellor of California Community Colleges, stated in a press release. “This is the result of nearly two years of hard work that started with the recommendations of the Student Success Task Force. But it’s not the end. Instead, it’s really just the beginning of a restructuring of our priorities, so our students succeed in greater numbers.”
Another change that was not anticipated but would impact all Cal Grant recipients is the across-board reduction. Tippins said Gov. Brown used his line-item veto power to make a 5 percent cut to all Cal Grants across the state.
The other thing that has significantly changed this year is the maximum lifetime eligibility for a Pell Grant. Since 2008, college students had nine full academic years to use their Pell Grant award to complete the academic program.
Starting this year, students are only left with six full years. There is also no appeal process after a student reaches the maximum number. Tippins suggests that students take their core classes instead of the electives first to make sure they get all the classes they need.
In order to avoid their financial aid cut for any reason, Tippins also suggested that students should keep themselves informed and up-to-date on the ever-changing financial aid policies.
“Everybody says ‘you don’t give us the information to succeed’. We do. The students are not going out to get it. We put it out there; you have to meet us halfway,” Tippins said. “I always recommend to the students I meet – go to our website and read this.”
