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Home » CalMatters: Getting Paid To Go To School? California’s Community Colleges Try It Out

CalMatters: Getting Paid To Go To School? California’s Community Colleges Try It Out

by CLAYCORD.com
22 comments

By Adam Echelman – CalMatters

Leah Richardson is juggling community college and work, but her job doesn’t pay enough to cover the cost of living in Sonoma County. Often, she relies on a food pantry, despite receiving thousands of dollars in financial aid from her school, Santa Rosa Junior College.

Now a new program will pay her for every hour she spends in class and on homework. The $30 million state program, called Hire UP, is an experiment modeled on the state’s many guaranteed income programs. It focuses on students who are formerly incarcerated, like Richardson, as well as former or current foster youth, and those receiving CalWorks benefits, the state’s cash aid program for low-income adults with children. Ten community college districts received the money and some schools, including Santa Rosa Junior College, are beginning to distribute it now. Others have yet to set a timeline.

Richardson, 37, is one of the first recipients. On a recent morning, she sat at a cafe next to campus, where students hurried by, but she didn’t notice them as she stared at her financial aid statement on her iPhone.

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“I’m a little in shock,” she said as she used her fingers to zoom in on the web page that showed her current grants.

She’ll receive monthly payments of nearly $2,000, starting today. Those payments are calculated based on the state’s minimum wage, $16 an hour, for each of the 30 hours she spends every week on school.

When she enrolled at Santa Rosa Junior College in 2021, she couldn’t afford to attend full time. She was still adjusting to a new routine, after spending time in and out of jail and substance use treatment centers. She decided to take classes in the afternoon and work from 4:30 a.m. until about 1:30 p.m. at a Safeway store most days of the week. When she wasn’t working at Safeway, she took shifts at bakeries.

“I was exhausted — a lot,” she said. Since then, she’s tried to work less and study more. “Now that I have this money, I don’t have the weight of having to go back to a job that’s going to drain me.”

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Gina Browne, an assistant vice chancellor with the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, said the office is monitoring how well colleges administer the program and how the money affects students’ outcomes.

“Some students who are working now may be able to stop working or reduce their hours,” she said. “We want students to focus on taking those units so they can get through (college).”

Student aid offers ‘a glimmer of hope’

Every Tuesday, formerly incarcerated students at Santa Rosa Junior College gather in a multi-purpose conference room on campus, part of a state-funded support program known locally as Second Chance. Men with scraggly beards or neck tattoos wave to younger men and women as they walk in. Some students wear T-shirts while others are in button-downs or blouses. It’s a cross-section of the college and the city at large. Modeled like a 12-step recovery meeting, students speak up, one by one, sharing their stories about navigating work, school and life after prison.

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Matthew Domingos, 42, helps moderate. He works part time for the college as he finishes an associate degree and prepares to transfer next semester to Cal Poly Humboldt. As a full-time student, his financial aid package totals around $10,000 a semester but it doesn’t leave any wiggle room, he said. “I feel like I’m one trip to the emergency room away from homelessness.” He was selected for Hire UP, but he doesn’t yet know how much money he’ll receive.

Richardson can’t always attend the weekly meetings because of her work and school schedule, though she wishes she could. She pays about $1,100 a month toward rent and hundreds more on utilities, food, and transportation. “I don’t spend money,” she said. “There isn’t any to spend.”

There are roughly 160 formerly incarcerated students who enroll each year at Santa Rosa Junior College, all of whom may apply for Hire UP, said Jessy Paisley, a counselor for the Second Chance program on campus.
That money is a “glimmer of hope,” she said. “How do you focus on turning in your Canvas assignment if you don’t even know where you’re going to charge your computer tonight, or sleep, or get your next meal?”

What happens when the money runs out

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The average cost of attending Santa Rosa Junior College, including living expenses, is about $20,000 to $30,000 a year, depending on whether students pay rent, said Rachael Cutcher, the college’s director of financial aid. For in-state students, tuition is less than 7% of their total annual expenses. The rest is rent, transportation, food and books.

Many students at the community college qualify for financial aid. However, the amount of aid typically depends on the number of classes that students take, and at Santa Rosa Junior College, most students are part time. Cutcher said the average financial aid package is around $10,000 a year.

The Sonoma County Junior College District, which oversees Santa Rosa Junior College, received just over $2.6 million for Hire UP, but the money can’t help all the students who qualify. The college has roughly 600 students who are formerly incarcerated, current or former foster youth, or CalWorks recipients, according to data from the chancellor’s office. If all of those students were to get a portion, the money would run out in a few months.

“We’re prioritizing our formerly incarcerated students as our first tier,” Cutcher said, later adding that the other populations are already eligible for their own special scholarships or government grants. “Then if we have enough funding, we’ll go to foster youth, then CalWorks. If it’s successful, I’d advocate for it to be renewed and offered more broadly.”

Other schools, such as those in the San Diego Community College District, expect to exhaust most of the money in the first two years, said Susan Topham, the vice chancellor of educational services for the district.

“We want them to run out of money,” said Browne. If community college districts spend it all and the benefits of the money are apparent, she said the chancellor’s office can advocate for more funding, either for this program or for similar ones.

California’s financial aid is stuck in 1969

Compared to other state and federal financial aid programs, the money from Hire UP is relatively small.

In the 2022-23 academic year, California gave community college students more than $700 million in state aid, according to data from the chancellor’s office. The same year, the federal government gave out nearly $1.7 billion in grants to community college students, including Pell grants for low-income students as well as one-time money from various COVID-19 spending bills.

But on a per-person basis, the money doesn’t always go far. For example, community college students typically receive just over $1,600 a year for non-tuition costs from the state’s cornerstone financial aid program, the Cal Grant.

That grant amount was first set in 1969, said Manny Rodriguez, the California director of policy and advocacy at The Institute for College Access and Success. “If it kept up with inflation, it should be worth between $7,000 and $8,000 today.”

For years, advocates like Rodriguez have worked with the chancellor’s office to push the state to give students more cash. In 2022, California legislators passed a new law that would slowly increase the amount of state money provided through the Cal Grant program.

However, the increases to Cal Grant will only go into effect if Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature agree to put the money into this year’s budget. Newsom has until May to release a revised state budget proposal, which includes the financial aid program. But with a multi-billion dollar projected deficit looming, advocates are worried that reforms may have to wait.

The federal and state financial aid programs also come with requirements many students fail to meet. The state’s largest financial aid program for community college students, the Student Success Completion Grant, requires students to take a full course load, typically at least four classes each semester.

Hire UP is structured differently. Part-time students can qualify, as long as they take at least two classes. The money is disbursed and recalculated every month, depending on how many classes the student took.

Domingos is a full-time student, so he qualifies for the Completion Grant. It’s one reason why he receives more financial aid than the average student. However, Richardson has never been able to receive the Completion Grant because her work schedule prevents her from taking more than three classes. While Domingos receives federal aid, Richardson’s income is too high to qualify.

Richardson will receive over $8,000 in Hire UP payments during the spring semester. That will be in addition to the $4,000 in financial aid she was already getting for the same time period.

Santa Rosa Junior College may run out of money for Hire UP, but Cutcher said the financial aid department has budgeted the program so that students who receive initial payments are guaranteed money until they graduate. That means Richardson could receive more than $20,000 from Hire UP before she graduates next year.

“No matter what,” she said. “I’m going to be ecstatic with whatever the state can offer me.”

22 Comments
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Boy, I was born too late for all these goodies!
I had to work hard to get good grades and to make money to pay for things. Then I was not eligible for certain jobs I wanted at the time : I.E fireman, forest ranger because the hiring quota was for Native Americans and people of color at the time. So I was left out of that those opportunities. There were a few other instances. So I worked hard ever since in other endeavors. Been a good citizen and paid my taxes. What do I get? I get to be victim of crimes that the people that run government now think is acceptable because those people committing the crimes are disadvantaged and I’m not. I ask again what do I get? Well, I guess I could say that I have self-esteem and self-worth because I’ve been a good citizen, carried my own weight even though it doesn’t seem to count anymore.

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You were born when there was a strong social safety net that every President since Carter has emaciated. This program is a drop of dye in the ocean compared to the safety net previous generations had. Don’t worry, you’re still more privileged than the youth.

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What safety net for previous generations would that be, exactly?

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I don’t believe your tales of woe. In fact I’ve seen a few posts from you in the past I’m pretty sure are BS too. Always seem to have a story that lines up to paint yourself as a victim. Why do you do that? 🧐

“but she didn’t notice them as she stared at her financial aid statement on her iPhone.”

why is she using a iphone if she is struggling with money they make much cheaper cell phones…

Only people that should get student aid is students that excel in school only the top tier students that actually try their best sure cover them pay their way because they put in the work. Most kids just go for the “college experience” to have sex and then drop out, those students shouldnt get free aid only smart kids who try hard should.

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This is nothing new. My friends and I used to get Pell Grant+Cal Grant (A for UC system, B for CSU system, C for community college). The federal and state grants were more than enough for tuition and books. Since we lived at home, we got $5k/year on average after the university subtracted the tuition. Although we didn’t need it, some of us even took out subsidized loan to live high on hog. Great time 🤗

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You must be proud to be part of the ‘everyone gets a trophy’ ‘ helicopter mommy’ generation.

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Do you forget that your generation raised them. So who’s really the blame.

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Actually not. I’m not that young. And, I didn’t just fall off the apple cart.

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Outrageous … so does that mean I’ll get reimbursed for thousands I spent on tuition while working 2-3 jobs to pay for it at the time?

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Wow …. More free money being given out to ‘under privileged ’ by our dictator at the cost of the tax payer.

Why do I work? Why did I work to pay my own way through school, sleep in crap, struggle paycheck to paycheck when all I had to was rely on the government to pay for my every need? I could get an iPhone, take student loans and not have to pay those back due to our dumb as rocks president and his cronies, aka democrats.

When do we start paying for their electric cars? And their servants? Just curious ….

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The last paragraph of the article says it all. The degree might be gender studies, but the real learning is how to grift grants.

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OMG more freebies!When is the state going to take care of the elderly.We have footed the Bill for a long time.And we are still paying the taxes so they keep doing this crap.I can’t wait until the greaseball who thinks he is making good decisions for the citizens is GONE!

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Sounds more like attendance is down and lay offs are a real possibility, so in a panic this was thought up to save jobs.

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LOAD OF CRAP-PAY TO PLAY !!!

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I guess it’s no wonder why the state has such a huge financial deficit. These handouts are like giving candy on Halloween.

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Wait…what? Dafuque?

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Hee hee here good one

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I heard Gavin wants to start paying newly released criminals a monthly salary if they ” promise” not to get into trouble and reoffend.

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Didn’t San Francisco already do that .. how well did that succeed (LOL!)

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Shoot a gun, go to Yale.

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Lets flush more money to sympathize with criminals and the state is already bankrupt,financially and morally

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