Dr. Alfredo G. de los Santos Jr., a research professor at Arizona State University’s Hispanic Research Center, says it is a groundbreaking report.
“This report shows that total cost is much higher for students, many of whom can’t afford going to college,” he says. “On average, students have to work 15-20 hours a week [to pay their way through college,] and then it is difficult for them to do well. That’s why they are part-time students.”
Both de los Santos and Abdi Soltani, the executive director of The Campaign for College Opportunity, say an important solution is to get more students into the federal Pell Grant program. A bill working its way through the California Legislature would direct community colleges to inform students of federal and financial aid packages when they enroll and would force the schools to provide training and resources to help students apply for Pell Grants.
“In our state, we’ve assumed that community colleges are lower in costs, with a fee-waiver program, so we took it to mean that college is affordable,” says Soltani. “This report puts a good focus beyond the fees, which are substantially beyond the means of average students.”
To access the full report online, visit www.highereducation.org/reports/calcc/calcc.pdf
— By Shilpa Banerji
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