City College students walk in front of the Learning Resource Center Oct. 8. | Phoenix Kanada | Photo Editor | [email protected]
Thinking about college? California begins offering first-year-free tuition
This fall as new students start classes at City College, many have had their tuition paid for thanks to a first-year-free program called the California College Promise.
The program called the California College Promise, came to be after the passage of Assembly Bill 19, signed into law Oct. 13, 2017, which waived fees for all first-time students attending California Community colleges starting the 2018 fall semester.
“We have known for a long time that there are a lot of financial barriers for our students,” said Ross. “Now high school students and even younger (students) than that can learn that ‘Hey, I can get a great education at Los Rios colleges and not have to pay for tuition.’”
Currently there are 39,000 students taking advantage of the Los Rios Promise Program (a form of financial aid), which includes the California Promise Grant and the California College Promise, said Ross.
“Within the district about 1,000 students are attending school currently under AB19 (California College Promise),” said Gabe Ross, associate vice chancellor of communications and media relations for the Los Rios Community College District.
To attend school without paying the typical $46-per-unit fee, new students must meet various requirements, such as being a full-time student (12 or more units) during the fall and spring semesters, be a California resident and be new to the college, according to program guidelines. Eligible students must also apply for financial aid programs, such as FAFSA and the California Promise Grant (formerly known as the BOG Fee Waiver).
Currently there are no restrictions to get fees paid for first-time students in their first year in college. Ross said that all students should sign up for all available financial aid to see which program will cover their fees for tuition to be free. The District wants all students to enjoy their first year in college without worrying about paying fees, and to get ahead either by transferring to a four-year college or getting their associate degrees in two years.
According to the office of Assemblymember Miguel Santiago (D-Los Angeles), in 2015 President Barack Obama advocated for two years of tuition-free community college for qualified students.
Before being elected to the Assembly, Santiago was the president of the Los Angeles Community College Board. He has said that his passion for higher education, particularly community colleges, motivated him to author AB19 to help all California community college students attend their first year for free.
“College is becoming incredibly unaffordable, and students face real struggles, which is why Assemblymember David Chiu co-authored AB19,” said Jen Kwart, Chiu’s communications director. “It’s the first big, important step to achieving free community college.”
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Kwart said there is nothing in the bill that imposes restrictions on a student’s income, and currently there is no end date for AB19. The law allows any first-time resident students to receive a waiver for fees for the first year at any community college, regardless of financial need, said Kwart.
“We started at the federal level with FAFSA, then with the state level with the California Promise Grant, and now AB19 is the next step to fill in the gaps within the federal and state financial aid,” said Kaitlyn MacGregor, City College communications and public information officer.
New students must take 12 units at City College and they may also take classes at any of the other Los Rios Community Colleges. New students also have to meet with a counselor to develop an academic plan to help them succeed and go to the next level, said MacGregor.
Phoebe Torres, pre-Allied Health major at City College, said that without the first-year-free program, she “probably wouldn’t attend college since I work part-time. and I get paid minimum wage.”
Torres, who now attends City College full time, said that if it was not for the California Promise Grant (which was presented to her when she applied to Sac City), she would have applied for the California College Promise to cover her fees.
“For all students who really want to focus on school and graduate this is a great thing,” said Joseph Hippard, City College student.
Hippard said he believes that having stipulations such as a 12-unit minimum encourages students who “can handle the pressure” of a full-time school load and continue with their education goals.
“It’s all about helping our students achieve their academic goals and making sure our students don’t leave any available resources on the table,” said Ross.
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