Strategic Vision for Equity 2021-2025

Issue Two: Access to Financial Aid

Paying for college is a significant barrier to educational attainment.

The cost to attend Foothill College varies depending on students’ individual circumstances as factors such as unit load and residency come into play. The tuition range for the 2019-20 academic year was $4,776 to $23,864. Inherent in the cost of attendance is the increasing expense of living in the Bay Area. In 2018, the median home price in the Bay Area was $996,000 and $1.2 million in Santa Clara County. The Bay Area continues to be the most expensive housing market in the United States.[3] College feedback frequently mentioned the competing demand students have juggling both school and work, often having to make a choice between the two.

Both federal and state-funded financial programs have helped students in the financing of their education; yet all students are not eligible for assistance due to specific program requirements. Foothill College Promise Program, launched in the 2018-19 academic year, provides two years of free tuition, fees, books and course materials to eligible first-time new, in-state/AB540 and full-time students. Therefore, part-time and non-resident students are omitted from consideration, and many returning and continuing students are unable to complete their studies in the two-year Promise window. While headcount participation grew from one year to the next, among the 914 grant recipients who started at our college in fall 2019, only 50% of them were retained to spring 2020.[4] Enrollment data revealed that many students fell out of eligibility in winter quarter by either going to part-time status or stopping out completely. Students who cannot complete or provide the necessary financial documents required for the program are also shut out, though they may have qualified otherwise. While Foothill College Promise serves a comparable or higher proportion of students of color in relation to the general student population, for example, 2019-20 grant recipients identified as African American (9%) and Latinx (41%), it remains an inaccessible program to many due to its restrictive eligibility requirements.

In addition to tuition fees, students especially noted the stress of financing their education is compounded by the costs of textbooks and printing fees on campus. Financial holds and drops for non-payment affect a student’s ability to register for classes, creating an additional obstacle to educational goal attainment. It would be worthwhile to examine these additional incidental costs to determine if the college could alleviate some of the financial burden, and at the same time, evaluate our campus policies related to these fees to determine if any student groups are disproportionately impacted by its current practices.

The trend in community college education suggests a move toward a tuition free model as evidenced by the state legislature’s $42.6 million allocation to the community college system for the California College Promise Grant (formerly known as the Board of Governors Fee Waiver). Even though tuition-free education at Foothill is an aspirational goal, there may not be a better time than now to act on it. The Office of Equity so proposes the following goals.

As financial challenges continue to increase for our students, it will be important to consistently review our policies and procedures, and explore and expand opportunities for financial relief, especially for our low income and students of color.

 

 

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