California State University System May Turn Away Up to 10,000 Qualified Students

Student Loan Girl — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 15:21:00 GMT

At the same time that the nation’s largest college system, California State University, is experiencing soaring admissions — up 10 percent over last year — the college system has announced it may begin turning away qualified students due to a state budget shortfall that could reach $24 billion by 2010, The Los Angeles Times reports (“CSU May Cut Future Enrollment by 10,000,” Nov. 18, 2008).

In anticipation of a possible $66 million midyear budget reduction, the Cal State system will be moving up application deadlines and increasing the academic standards for admission to help weed out some students. Cal State University system chancellor, Charles Reed, has said the school system needs to pare back its 450,000 enrollment at 23 campuses by 10,000 students for the 2009–10 school year.

Since the university system has never had to limit enrollments before, university officials aren’t exactly sure which students — freshmen, sophomore transfer, international, or out-of-state — will be most affected by the rollbacks. But the enrollment-cut proposition has left some administrators thinking that California high school graduates will perhaps be the hardest hit.

If the school system cuts just 5,000 students, first-year admissions, which typically reach 50,000 students, would take a 10- percent cut.

“These are going to be kids who have done everything they’re supposed to do, and told year after year they’ll have this opportunity,” said Kathy Rapkin, chair of the counseling department at California’s Arcadia High School. “These kids are not going to get a place.”

Other Institutions May Be Affected by the State Budget Shortfall

Schools in the California State system are not the only institutions in the state that may be impacted by the $24 billion state budget shortfall. Administrators for the University of California system have said they may have to limit admissions to their most popular campuses and send students to the system’s less-populated campuses, UC Riverside and UC Merced. They have not issued statements regarding enrollment cuts.

Officials at California’s community colleges don’t anticipate having to reduce their enrollment numbers, but they may have to limit students’ access to certain classes.

Diane Woodruff, chancellor of the California Community Colleges System Office, said, of the 2.7 million students currently enrolled in California community colleges, some 250,000 students, or nearly 10 percent, could be driven away.

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Concerned About College Costs, Texas Board Considers Changes to State Financial Aid

Student Loan Girl — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:13:00 GMT

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board is considering restructuring the state’s financial aid programs amid growing concerns about college affordability.

Proposed changes would raise the academic standards students must meet to qualify for the Texas Grant program, which helps low-income students pay for college, and would merge two of the state’s lesser-known financial aid programs with the Texas Grant. The board would also consider raising the income level at which students qualify for the Texas Grant, according to an article in the Houston Chronicle (“Financial Aid Fix Raises Concerns About Poorer Students,” July 21, 2008).

The Texas Grant program currently serves students who come from families that earn $39,000 a year or less and who have completed the recommended high school curriculum for Texas students, which includes four years of English, math, and science.

Changes Could Negatively Impact Low-Income Students

Some legislators are concerned that if enacted, the proposed changes would benefit middle-income students and widen the financial aid gap for low-income students. They also say raising the academic criteria for students who hope to qualify for a Texas Grant — requiring students to earn a 1350 on the SAT or an 18 on the ACT — would be detrimental to the most financially needy students who the grant program is designed to help.

“The changes will effectively cut off many of these students,” said Max Castillo, president of the University of Houston’s downtown campus.

Even under the current criteria, only about half of the students who qualify for the Texas Grant program receive a grant because there isn’t enough money, says state Senator Rodney Ellis, one of the original sponsors of the Texas Grant. Texas ranks last in per-capita spending for college grants among the 10 most populous states, according to the National Association of State Student Grant and Aid Programs.

If approved by the education board, the new merit criteria would apply for students entering high school in fall 2009.

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Student Loan Blog : academic standards

California State University System May Turn Away Up to 10,000 Qualified Students

Concerned About College Costs, Texas Board Considers Changes to State Financial Aid