Governor proposes fee waiver for redirected college students

Marisa O’Neil

Graduating high school students diverted to community colleges from

state universities this fall will face a good-news, bad-news

scenario.

The bad news: They didn’t get an outright acceptance to their

college of choice. The good news: They may save thousands of dollars

on tuition.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed that UC and Cal State

campuses reduce freshman enrollment by 10%, meaning roughly 10,000

eligible students will start out at community colleges.

Schwarzenegger is requesting that the fees for students accepted

into a state college and then denied be waived for two years while

they attend community colleges.

The state sets fees for the community college system. In the fall,

they are expected to rise to $26 a unit, up from $18 this year.

For the 2002-03 school year, classes were $11 a unit.

Fee waivers would not include parking, books or other costs beyond

instruction. If it takes students longer than two years to complete

necessary classes at community colleges, they will have to pay those

fees, said H.D. Palmer, spokesman for the state’s department of

finance.

The department is still working on a plan to help community

colleges provide enough course sections for students, Palmer said.

Community college campuses would not be affected by the waivers,

said Scott Lay, director of state budget issues for the Community

College League of California. But giving redirected students a free

ride will prevent them from applying for available financial aid and

grants, he said.

“Anything that dissuades students from applying for federal money

that’s sitting on the table is not good policy,” he said.

Redirected students will still save money, even if the fee waivers

are not approved.

After a compact agreement with the governor, UC regents announced

last week that they are significantly increasing student fees. The

fee hikes, however, are lower than Schwarzenegger’s January budget

had anticipated.

This fall, UC undergraduates will pay $700 more in student fees

for the year, bringing the cost of one year in college to roughly

$6,230. Those fees will increase 8% each of the next two years and no

more than 10% after that.

Graduate students will pay $1,050 more -- an increase of 20%, half

of what was proposed in the original state budget. Average total fees

would be $7,893 annually.

Nonresident tuition will rise 20% per year beginning this fall.

Fees for professional programs, like law, medicine and film, will

increase between and $2,600 to $4,500.

Community colleges, Lay said, can provide a cheaper alternative

for even students who were not redirected.

“One of the best education deals you can get is going to a

California community college and into the state college system,” he

said.

* MARISA O’NEIL covers education. She may be reached at (949)

574-4268 or by e-mail at [email protected].