The California Student Aid Commission predicted that recent changes to the Cal Grant Program will result in nearly 13,000 California students loosing award eligibility this upcoming year as a result of Senate Bill 70.
Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 70 – the Education Trailer Bill – into law on March 24, altering Cal Grant eligibility requirements for both students and institutions.
Recent changes made to the award will begin to affect students in the upcoming fiscal school year.
The bill’s purpose is to reduce state spending by revising Cal Grant eligibility standards.
According to the California Student Aid Commission, Cal Grant recipients will now be required to meet maximum income and asset ceilings, as well as meet a financial need requirement prior to their award renewal.
The bill also states that initial and renewal Cal Grant recipients will not be able to use their Cal Grant awards at institutions that fail to meet new institutional eligibility standards.
“The second change requires colleges to maintain a trial student loan cohort default rate less that 24.6 percent,” said Rhonda Johnson, CSU East Bay Executive Director of Financial Aid. “East Bay’s most recent cohort default rate is 4.0, so this provision is not an issue for us.”
Though the university’s cohort default rate is not an issue, students at CSUEB have still been subjected to the effects of the recent changes.
For senior Corina Dela Cruz, the recent cuts to her Cal Grant award may result in a prolonged stay at CSUEB.
“I depend on Cal Grants a lot for school,” she said. “Last year I received over $5,000 in Cal Grants and will only be receiving $2,000 this year.”
Like Dela Cruz, CSUEB junior Billy Moore has been affected by the new eligibility requirements.
“My Cal Grant was completely cut,” she said. “I’ll have to take out larger loans to even be able to attend school next year.”
CSUEB had approximately 1,600 Cal Grant recipients during the 2010-2011 aid year, said Johnson. “It is safe to assume that may students will assume new or additional student loan debt to replace their Cal Grants.”
CSUEB students will not be the only group to experience large cuts to their Cal Grant awards.
Of the approximated 658,000 students in the CSU and UC systems, over 218,000 received Cal Grant awards during the 2010-2011 school decrease of $100 million in Cal Grant funds, according to the California State Budget.
Given the reductions to the award program, CSUEB has taken certain provisions to counter the cuts in financial aid that some students may experience.
“It is our policy to attempt to fully meet the need of aid applicants,” said Johnson. “CSUEB automatically considers all financial aid applicants, including former Cal Grant recipients, for our State University Grant, which can replace the Cal Grant fee amount for some students.”
Cal Grant “B” recipients will be hit the hardest if deemed ineligible for renewal.
Students who previously qualified under this category may experience significant financial troubles due to their abundant aid awards prior to the approval of Senate Bill 70.
“Because Cal Grant ‘B’ recipients receive fee assistance, as well as an access payment of $1,551 in years two through four, loss of Cal Grant eligibility will have a major impact on these students,” said Johnson.
Dela Cruz is a Cal Grant “B” recipient, and says she will have to make certain changes in the upcoming school year to compensate for the loss of Cal Grant funds.
“Cal Grant is barely covering my tuition now,” said Dela Cruz. “I will have to work much more and take less classes in order to pay for the rest of school.”
