Gov. Jerry Brown has proposed changes to Cal Grant funding in his recently released 2012-2013 budget, which may make it more difficult for students to obtain Cal Grant tuition aid.
Currently, Cal Grant “A” covers up to $12,192 a year in tuition assistance to low-income students attending the University of California.
Under the proposed changes prospective students would have to achieve a minimum 3.25 GPA ““ higher than the current GPA minimum set at 3.0 ““ to qualify for Cal Grant “A” assistance.
Elizabeth Lopez Medrano, a fourth-year Chicano/a studies student, said she is concerned about the proposed changes to the assistance program. As a low-income student, Cal Grant tuition is vital to her education ““ she receives nearly $6,400 each quarter to help cover her tuition, books and housing, that together costs more than $30,000 a year.
“Without Cal Grant I wouldn’t be at UCLA,” Medrano said. “It’s unjust. Most students that have low GPAs are of low income communities who received a poor public education.”
While these proposals could pose major implications on the affordability of a UC education for low-income students, the measures would still have to clear numerous hurdles in the budget process before taking effect.
The Undergraduate Students Association Council plans to lobby members of the state legislature to avoid passing the proposed changes, said Joelle Gamble, USAC external vice president and fourth-year international development studies student.
“The best thing to do at this point is engage in the lobbying process with members of the assembly who are sympathetic to higher education,” she said.
Gamble’s office is also working to coordinate a state-wide lobbying effort across the UC. Plans for the effort will be discussed this weekend at the University of California Student Association meeting in UC San Francisco, Gamble said.
If Brown’s proposed changes are implemented, a projected 250 UC students would lose their Cal Grant funding. Over the next four years, a projected 1,000 UC students would lose their Cal Grant assistance, said Dianne Klein, a spokeswoman for the UC.
“The total dollar value of the loss in grants, in 2013, would be $20 million to UC. This would increase to $25 million in subsequent years,” Klein said.
The UC will use university funds to backfill the loss of Cal Grant funds, Klein said. In addition to receiving Cal Grants, the UC requires recipients to make up $9,400 through a combination of work-study and loans to help fund their education.
If Brown’s proposed changes to Cal Grant funding take effect, the loan and work-study obligation for financial aid recipients would increase, Klein said.
The increase, however, has yet to be determined, she said.