Making College Possible Grant and Scholarship Aid in California

Hans Johnson Public Policy Institute of California

Supported with funding from the College Access Foundation of California and the Donald Bren Foundation

§  College remains the best path to economic gains – But it has become more expensive

§  The majority of California’s K–12 students are poor or “near” poor

§  Aid allows many students to attend and complete college

2

Grants and scholarships are essential to many Californians

Outline

§  Sources of grant aid §  How important is grant aid? §  Policy and program challenges

3

Aid comes from various sources

§  Major sources include – Federal government – State government –  Institutional grants offered by colleges – Private scholarships

§  Merit scholarships vs. need-based aid

4

Most aid is provided by federal and state governments

5

37%

6%

23%

7%

27%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Dis

tribu

tion

of to

tal a

id

Institutional Aid

Private Scholarships

Local Aid

State Aid

Other Federal Aid

Pell Grants

Aid sources vary across institutions

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

UC

CSU

Community college

Private non-profit, 4-year

Private for-profit, 4-year

Private for-profit, 2-year

Pell Grants Other federal grants State grants Institutional grants Local grants Private scholarships

Share of aid 2011-12

Aid sources vary across institutions

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

UC

CSU

Community college

Private non-profit, 4-year

Private for-profit, 4-year

Private for-profit, 2-year

Pell Grants Other federal grants State grants Institutional grants Local grants Private scholarships

Share of aid 2011-12

Outline

§  Sources of grant aid §  How important is grant aid?

– Affordability – Accessibility – Completion

§  Policy and program challenges

8

Public colleges are more affordable than private colleges…

9

16,466 19,700

26,924

37,418

46,092

55,546

17,485

22,819

31,198

35,323

51,590

57,706

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

70,000

Community colleges

CSU UC Private for-profit

Private non-profit

Private non-profit research

Tota

l pric

e of

atte

ndan

ce ($

)

2008–09

2011–12

…but private colleges offer the most aid

10

Amount of aid by family income

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

35,000

Community college

CSU UC Private non-profit,

4-year

Private for-profit,

4-year

0–30,000

30,000–48,000

48,000–75,000

75,000–110,00

110,000+

Family income ($):

Ave

rage

aid

per

fres

hman

in 2

011–

12 ($

)

Even so, net prices are lowest at public colleges…

11

Net price by family income

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

35,000

40,000

Community college

CSU UC Private non-profit,

4-year

Private for-profit,

4-year

0–30,000 30,000–48,000 48,000–75,000 75,000–110,00 110,000+

Family income ($):

Aver

age

net p

rice

per f

resh

man

in 2

011–

12 ($

)

12

0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000 30,000

Santa Clara Univ. Loyola Marymount Univ.

Saint Marys College of California Biola Univ.

Chapman Univ. Azusa Pacific Univ.

Univ. of San Francisco Point Loma Nazarene Univ.

Univ. of the Pacific California Lutheran Univ.

California Baptist Univ. Univ. of San Diego Univ. of Redlands Pepperdine Univ. Univ. of La Verne

Univ. of Southern California Occidental College

San Jose State Univ. UC-Santa Cruz

Cal Poly -San Luis Obispo Humboldt State Univ. Sonoma State Univ.

CSU-Channel Islands CSU-Chico

UC-Davis CSU-Northridge

UC-San Diego San Francisco State Univ.

UC-Merced UC-Santa Barbara

UC-Irvine UC-Los Angeles

CSU-East Bay UC-Riverside UC-Berkeley

CSU-Sacramento CSU-San Marcos CSU-Long Beach Cal Poly-Pomona

San Diego State Univ. CSU-San Bernardino

CSU-Bakersfield Stanford Univ.

CSU-Monterey Bay CSU-Fullerton

CSU-Stanislaus CSU-Fresno

CSU-Los Angeles CSU-Dominguez Hills

Net Price for Low-income Freshmen at California Colleges 2011-12 ($)

Public colleges Private colleges

…with one exception

Public universities enroll three of every four low-income students

13

Share of low-income freshmen

CSU 47%

UC 26%

Private non-profit, 4-year

12%

Private for-profit, 4-year 15%

14

0 200 400 600 800 1,000 1,200 1,400 1,600 1,800 2,000

CSU-Northridge UC-Irvine

CSU-Los Angeles UC-Riverside

UC-Davis CSU-Long Beach

CSU-Fresno UC-Los Angeles

CSU-Fullerton UC-San Diego

CSU-Sacramento UC-Santa Barbara

San Francisco State Univ. San Jose State Univ.

UC-Santa Cruz California State Polytechnic Univ.-Pomona

CSU-San Bernardino San Diego State Univ. CSU-Dominguez Hills

UC-Berkeley CSU-Bakersfield

UC-Merced CSU-Chico

CSU-East Bay CSU-Stanislaus

Humboldt State Univ. Univ. of Southern California

CSU-San Marcos California Polytechnic State Univ.-San Luis Obispo

Sonoma State Univ. CSU-Monterey Bay

California Baptist Univ. Azusa Pacific Univ.

Univ. of La Verne Univ. of the Pacific

Univ. of San Francisco CSU-Channel Islands

Biola Univ. Loyola Marymount Univ.

Chapman Univ. Univ. of Redlands

Saint Marys College of California Stanford Univ.

Pepperdine Univ. Santa Clara Univ.

California Lutheran Univ. Point Loma Nazarene Univ.

Univ. of San Diego Occidental College

Number of Low-income Freshmen at California Colleges, 2011-12

Public

Private

Just three public universities enroll more low-income freshmen than all the private universities combined

Grant aid improves completion

§  Students who receive aid are more likely to graduate §  Aid enables some to attend four-year colleges

– These colleges have much higher completion rates §  Performance-based grants do not lead to large

increases in completion

15

Outline

§  Sources of grant aid §  How important is grant aid? §  Policy and program challenges

16

Summary

§  For many, college would probably not be possible without grant aid

§  Aid is linked to higher rates of college completion §  Aid can encourage attendance at four-year colleges §  Performance-based grants do not appear to be

more effective

17

Grant aid has not kept pace with rising costs

18

Net price for low-income students receiving Title IV funds

In January 2012 $

2008–09 2011–12

Community colleges $ 5,759 $ 6,091

CSU 7,047 7,473

UC 8,795 8,746

Private for-profit 29,676 24,190

Private non-profit 20,190 19,216

Private non-profit research 10,874 11,191

Recommendations

§  Help more students complete financial aid forms §  Direct additional funding to low-income students §  Make more institutions ineligible for state and

federal grants §  Ensure aid does not exacerbate higher education

cost inflation §  Avoid attaching more performance requirements to

grant eligibility

19

SB 15 (Block) – Senate Democrats Higher Education Funding Plan

§  Eliminate 5% tuition increase at UC §  Repeal the 11% planned cut to Cal Grants A Maximum Award for

Private Non-Profits

§  Fund 7,500 additional Cal Grant A Competitive Awards and increase enrollment in 2015-16 by 5,000 for UC and 10,500 for CSU

§  Establish Completion Incentive Grants to incentivize completion for low-income CSU students –  $1,000 grant for 30 units –  $1,500 grant for 60 units –  $2,000 grant for 90 units

§  Plan paid for by raising tuition for out of state students, eliminating Middle Class Scholarship Fund, and tapping the new College Access Tax Credit Fund

20

Making College Possible Grant and Scholarship Aid in California

Hans Johnson

Supported with funding from the College Access Foundation of California and the Donald Bren Foundation

Notes on the use of these slides

22

These slides were created to accompany a presentation. They do not include full documentation of sources, data samples, methods, and interpretations. To avoid misinterpretations, please contact: Hans Johnson(johnson@ppic.org; 415-291-4400) Thank you for your interest in this work.