Question 3: Student Fees-What's in the Plan?

Background for Question 3: California currently has relatively low student fees, coupled with financial aid for those families and individuals who cannot afford the cost of attendance at colleges and universities. Recommendation 49 states "The Legislature and the Governor should reform the State's approach to student charges in the public segments and maintain the Cal Grant need-based financial aid entitlement." (Recommendations 49.1-49.3 address related issues.) The draft Plan goes on to suggest that "California's policy of retaining low fees at all costs should be re-examined in light of modern realities." The 1965 Master Plan assumed that admission cost was the most important factor in steering young adults toward or away from college, discounting e.g. transportation, enrollment, child care, and various fees. Today more financial resources (grants, middle-income tuition tax credits, "institution-based aid" and loans) are available for fees, tuition, room and board and books, depending on students' financial circumstances and the kind of institution attended. However, loans - a growing proportion of the financial aid available to students - are the financing most often rejected by low-income students. The joint legislative committee "believes California should continue its commitment to low fees for students enrolled in public colleges and universities. We also recognize the benefit of taking actions to mitigate substantial increases in student fees, which research indicates have the greatest negative impact on students enrolling in community colleges."