Adam Echelman
Reporter | CalMatters-
This November, California voters will decide on Proposition 2, a $10 billion education bond. Some community colleges are counting on the money to fix critical buildings and protect the safety of students.
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Adults without high school diplomas can attend community college, but few of them receive financial aid, even when they’re eligible. A new proposal from Gov. Gavin Newsom and California Community Colleges Chancellor Sonya Christian aims to fix that. But it may be too late.
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In Gov. Gavin Newsom’s revised budget, he proposed significant cuts to the Middle Class Scholarship, which provides financial aid to more than 300,000 students. He also signaled that he won’t expand the Cal Grant program, a plan that was based on adequate funding in the state budget.
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California’s community colleges are reporting a rise in financial aid fraud. In January, suspected bots represented 1 in 4 college applicants. Schools have given away millions to these scams, and college officials say fraudsters are getting smarter with the help of AI.
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California is removing degree requirements from jobs, but state leaders differ about the right approach.
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After a historic decline in community college enrollment during the pandemic, students are returning to school again, according to the state’s most recent data. But students between the ages of 20 and 30 are lagging behind.
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A new law allows community colleges to offer bachelor’s degrees, an option for students unable to attend a four-year institution. But California State University officials are objecting to many of those proposed programs.
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In far-Northern California and other rural and conservative-leaning parts of the state, LGBTQ+ student groups are small in number and face homophobic and transphobic incidents on and off campus. Some help is on the way.
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As California closes three more prisons and downsizes six others, some prisoners aren’t ready to go. They are worried about the future of their education.
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More than a year of mudslinging between the higher education systems has led to delays and anger over the issue of awarding bachelor’s degrees at community colleges. Legislators, frustrated by the lack of progress, are getting involved.
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Many college students rely on federal student aid to cover expenses, but increasingly complicated laws and poor communication have made those dollars harder to come by for some adult students.