The Cal State Student Association (CSSA) and The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS) examine trends in college affordability for California State University (CSU) bachelor's degree recipients compared to its original analysis published six years ago. This new report finds that in 2021-2022, nearly two in three CSU bachelor's degree…

State need-based financial aid programs are a key driver of college access and completion for lower-income students and racially marginalized students in California, most of whom attend public two- and four-year colleges and universities and come from families with annual incomes of less than $40,000. As the state's largest need-based financial…

After doubling during the Great Recession, tuition at California's public universities has leveled off: since 2012, it has increased by a modest 2.5 percent at the University of California (UC) and has not risen at all at the California State University (CSU). However, tuition is now at all-time highs at UC ($11,442), CSU ($5,472), and the…

COVID has led colleges to brace for potential enrollment declines in the Fall, which would devastate budgets and potentially decrease the likelihood a student ever earns a degree. We take an early look at California's FAFSA applications up through mid-June, to anticipate how students may be responding to this crisis. We find that COVID did not…

We examine the impacts of being awarded a Cal Grant, among the most generous state merit aid programs. We exploit variation in eligibility rules using GPA and family income cutoffs that are ex ante unknown to applicants. Cal Grant eligibility increases degree completion by 2 to 5 percentage points in our reduced form estimates. Cal Grant also…

Community colleges have maintained a mission and commitment to open access. Likewise, Federal Pell Grants have historically served as a primary means for low income populations to afford higher education. Thus, community college students and Federal Pell Grants are important parts of the American higher education landscape and a mode of social and…

The cost of attending the University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) has increased in recent years as UC and CSU have raised fees in response to reduced state funding. Fees are generally lower than fees at public universities in other states, but with California's higher living costs, the overall cost of attendance at UC…

The Commission adopted two affordability reports in 2008. One report examined costs for students at a four-year public university who live on campus. The other examined costs for students living in their parent's home while studying at a community college. Costs were compared to trends in family income over the past 30 years. The resulting report…

Stateline.org recently called this recession the worst in 50 years for state budgets. As has been the case in past economic downturns, higher education looks to be particularly hard hit. Funds from the American Recovery and Relief Act may have postponed some of the difficulty for many colleges and universities, but the outlook for public higher…

This white paper looks at the way that rising college costs are affecting California families. Higher education in California has historically been guided by the principle that maintaining affordability is paramount to providing access to all students who desire a postsecondary education. However, over recent decades, eroding state funding for…

This white paper continues the Commission's examination of how rising college costs are affecting California families. An earlier paper looked at the costs for students living on campus at the University of California (UC) and the California State University (CSU). Rising costs for UC and CSU have been particularly hard on middle- and lower-income…

Two arguments against the Hansen-Weisbrod study (which stated that subsidies in California public higher education discriminate against students from lower income families) are presented: (1) comparison should be based on the age of the family head (35-60 years), and (2) student financial aid should be added to tuition subsidies. (Author/EC)

This study examines the racial and ethnic distribution of the costs and benefits of higher education in California. This exploratory work documents the racial and ethnic distribution of these benefits, in the form of enrollments in different sectors and different types of institutions, as well as on the costs, in the form of the share borne by…

Prepared as testimony to the California Assembly Special Committee on Community Colleges, this report provides information on community college student income levels, financial aid, and estimates of unmet financial need and ensuing consequences for students and the colleges. First, questions raised by the committee regarding family income levels…

As a field test of a new service, nine California state colleges and universities reviewed the kinds of changes they made in reevaluations of family financial strength and contribution. The changes were made as the institutions exercised "professional responsibility to make equitable judgments" in determining student need. (LBH)