CSUN University News Clippings

Colleges gently asking students for more money

(July 31, 2009)

By Matt Krupnick

Community college fees rose 30 percent this week, forcing schools to ask students who already paid the lower fees to pay more for their fall courses.

The late request requires college leaders to balance their need for money with an understanding of students’ often-shaky financial situations.

“We want to collect the fee,” said Frank Chong, president of Oakland’s Laney College. “But we’re going to work with the students.”

The newly adopted state budget raised fees from $20 per unit to $26, sending the average annual cost for full-time students from $600 to $780. The fees at California’s 110 community colleges remain by far the lowest in the nation but still are likely to worry students already dealing with job losses or foreclosures.

College leaders have noted that the poorest one-third of the state’s 2.7 million students do not pay fees and will not notice the increase. But the remaining two-thirds will be expected to pay the additional money sometime in the next few months.

Administrators said they are trying not to rush students, but that they will need to pay up for the fall before they register for spring classes, which begin in January at most schools.

At the three schools in the Contra Costa Community College District, students who log onto their online registration accounts to tinker with or print class schedules will be notified of the amount due, said Mojdeh Mehdizadeh, a vice chancellor for the district. Each campus also will post notices and banners about the change, and instructors are being asked to alert students on the first day of class in August.

Financial-aid administrators plan to work closely with students to make sure they have all the scholarships and loans they need, she said.

“We are really, really ready to communicate with students about financial aid,” Mehdizadeh said.

But the fee hikes also will further strain financial-aid offices that have been inundated with needy students for the past year. More students than ever are arriving on campus after losing jobs, requiring counselors to review financial-aid applications manually in order to adjust scholarship amounts.

After many California schools experienced an increase of 50 percent or more in those cases last year, it appears some are facing additional increases of 60 percent in the fall, said Tim Bonnel, financial-aid coordinator for the state community-college system. With cash-strapped colleges unable to hire more counselors, students likely will find long lines at those offices.

“Unfortunately, our ability to serve the increased number of students is taking a hit,” said Chong, the Laney College president. “It’s going to mean longer waits.”

Still, Bonnel said, students need to do what it takes to explore aid options.

“Nobody’s going to walk around school handing out money,” he said. “Apply early and listen to everything they tell you.”

Publication: Contra Costa Times