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Dr. Daisy Gonzales will serve as the California Student Aid Commission’s Executive Director
SACRAMENTO, Calif., June 11, 2024 – The California Student Aid Commission (Commission) has named Dr. Daisy Gonzales to serve as the next Executive Director of the Commission, the nation’s largest state financial aid system. The announcement comes following an extensive national search. Dr. Gonzales currently serves as the Deputy Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, where she oversees 116 colleges and supports the implementation of learning environments and services for 2 million students.
Dr. Daisy Gonzales
Executive Director, California Student Aid Commission
“As an alumna of the Cal Grant…
Read more about Executive Director Dr. Daisy Gonzales
Student Aid Commission is Joined by a Diverse Coalition Calling for the Expansion of Pell Grant Eligibility to DACA Recipients
For a third consecutive year, the Commission has been joined by a diverse coalition of partners in a letter to the California Congressional delegation expressing support of President Biden’s proposal to expand the Pell Grant program to students with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status.
The Commission’s recent report, Renewing the Dream, highlights not just the progress that California has made in providing access to state financial aid for the larger undocumented student population, but also underscores the…
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Student Aid Commission Supports Proposal to Expand Pell Grant Eligibility to Students with DACA Status
As part of the proposed 2021-22 federal budget, the Biden administration proposed significant changes to the Federal Pell Grant program, including expansion of Pell Grant eligibility to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients. In a letter sent to the California Congressional delegation today, the Commission is joined by a diverse coalition of over twenty leading organizations from across California in higher education, policy advocacy, and civil rights in sharing support for President…
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Marlene L . Garcia Executive Director, California Student Aid Commission
Student Aid Commission Executive Director Marlene Garcia Responds to Derek Chauvin trial
To our students, families, and colleagues:
As the news hit the country and the world that Derek Chauvin was found guilty in the murder of George Floyd, we have taken a step in the right direction towards a more just system.
Before we celebrate justice being served, we must acknowledge that while this verdict is an important example of accountability, we still have a long way to go in our fight for a system that truly provides liberty and justice for all. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of George Floyd, and of those who have fallen victims of police brutality and racist rhetoric.
At the Student Aid Commission, we are committed to playing our role in creating educational opportunities for all students by meeting the needs of our most marginalized communities. Our fight for educational equity and accessibility is not over.
In solidarity,
Marlene L. Garcia
Executive Director, California Student Aid Commission…
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Student Aid Congratulates New CSU Chancellor Joseph I. Castro
SACRAMENTO, Calif., September 23, 2020 – The California State University (CSU), the nation’s largest public university has selected Joseph I. Castro as their new chancellor. Joseph is currently the President of CSU Fresno.
“This appointment is exciting and historic news for CSU students and the state of California. President Castro is an incredible leader. He is a true advocate of access, equity, and financial aid, making him the right person for the job during this crucial time we live in,” stated Marlene Garcia, Executive Director of the California Student Aid Commission.
Castro will be the first ever California native and Mexican American appointed to the role of CSU Chancellor. This truly is a historic day for the CSU and the state of California. “It is exciting to see someone who represents the mission of the commission, emphasizing that all students regardless of their economic or social background should be allowed access to higher…
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California Student Aid Commission | UC Davis California Education Lab
Spring 2020 COVID-19 Student Survey Press Conference
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Marlene Garcia | Catalina Cifuentes | Dr. Jamillah Moore
Student Aid Commission stands in solidarity with California’s students and education partners in pursuit of social justice
CONTACT: Michael Lemus 916-206-1285
Michael.lemus@csac.ca.gov
SACRAMENTO, Calif., June 5, 2020To our students, families, and colleagues,
We write to you with a heaviness in our heart as we grieve with the nation. The death of George Floyd, yet another unarmed Black male, shines a bright spotlight on the vast systemic inequities that exist within our society.
On top of the COVID-19 pandemic, this tragedy has caused deep emotional trauma for many of our students, their families and communities. In the face of this crises, now more than ever we are committed to meeting the needs of our financial aid students, especially those from the most marginalized communities.
As the nation’s largest administrator of state financial aid, we are regularly reminded of the important work we do to bridge the financial gap in helping students fund their college education…
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By Mikhail Zinshteyn February 19, 2020 | Education + workforce reporter
Cal Grant Reform CA Student Aid Commission Meeting
NEW: California’s student financial aid agency is proposing a massive expansion of state grants for college students. If enacted, more than 300,000 students currently ineligible would be able to receive additional aid for community colleges. 1/x (many -- I'm going deep on this)
— Mikhail Zinshteyn (@mzinshteyn) February 19, 2020
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BY EMA SASIC esasic@baskersfield.com May 29, 2019
West High counselor is first-ever Kern County recipient of prestigious award
West High counselor is first-ever Kern County recipient of prestigious award | News | bakersfield.com
West High School counselor Meagan Holmes did not understand why she was kept out of an assembly Wednesday morning.
"Our new principal, Megan Gregor, was keeping me out," she said. "I didn't know what was going on."
She then noticed her parents, husband and daughters and got suspicious.
Little didHolmes know she was the first Kern County recipient of the Arthur S. Marmaduke Award, an annual award that recognizes an outstanding California high school counselor who demonstrates exemplary skills in helping students fulfill their dreams of going to college, according to a press release. It has been given out since 1985.
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Free Money for College
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Greta Anderson | September 6, 2019
Fear and Confusion Among Immigrant Students
A new federal rule that will closely scrutinize immigrants' use of public assistance programs has college students in California worried and considering withdrawing from financial aid programs.
The California Community Colleges system is trying to ease the concerns of immigrant students worried about the impact of a new immigration rule scheduled to go into effect next month.
The rule change by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will more closely scrutinize immigrants based on their use of federal public assistance programs, such as food stamps and Medicaid, when they apply for legal immigrant status or renew their Permanent Resident Card, which is commonly referred to as a "green card." The so-called "public charge" rule is designed to deter noncitizens from using, or becoming dependent on, government social assistance programs.
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California Budget & Policy Center | August 2019 | By Amy Rose
Demand for Competitive Cal Grants Far Exceeds Supply
Low-income students who attend college more than one year after high school graduation and meet certain GPA requirements are eligible for Competitive Cal Grants awards. These awards help students pay for tuition and fees, as well as living expenses.
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California Chafee Grant Program Commercial
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Enoch Jemmott | March 28, 2019 | Mr. Jemmott is a senior at Queens College
The Implicit Punishment of Daring to Go to College When Poor
A documentary to be screened on Capitol Hill next month, in which I am featured, chronicles the experience of low-income students navigating college admissions.
When I heard that federal prosecutors werecharging 50 people in six statesfor a college admissions bribery scheme and read the accounts that followed, outlining all of the other extensive, mostly legal, help that applicants from rich families get, it underscored how different the admissions experience was for me and my high school classmates in Canarsie.
The Canarsie neighborhood of eastern Brooklyn is an hour subway ride from the gleaming skyscrapers of Manhattan and a world away from the door-opening privileges enjoyed by the children of households in “good” school districts(much less the dirty-rich families implicated in the bribery scandal.)…
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By Stacy Cowley and Erica L.Green | March 7, 2019
A College Chain Crumbles, and Millions in Student Loan Cash Disappears
When the Education Department approved a proposal by Dream Center, a Christian nonprofit with no experience in higher education, to buy a troubled chain of for-profit colleges, skeptics warned that the charity was unlikely to pull off the turnaround it promised.
What they didn’t foresee was just how quickly and catastrophically it would fail.
Barely a year after the takeover, dozens of Dream Center campuses are nearly out of money and may close as soon as Friday. More than a dozen others have been sold in the hope they can survive.
The affected schools — Argosy University, South University and the Art Institutes — have about 26,000 students in programs spanning associate degrees in dental hygiene and doctoral programs in law and psychology. Fourteen campuses, mostly Art Institute locations, have a new owner after a hastily arranged transfer involving private equity executives. More than 40 others are under the control of a court-appointed receiver who has…
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March 1, 2019 by Geona Barrow | Sacramento Observer
Paying for College: Finding The Resources You Need
Akosia Robinson took her three children on tours of her alma mater, Morgan State University, hoping to spark an interest and have them follow in her footsteps and attend the historically Black university.
None of them have chosen the Baltimore campus Ms. Robinson attended, but she says she supports their dreams and goals, wherever they may take them.
“I want them to follow their passion,” the local mom shared.
While he didn’t complete his studies there, her son Christopher Thomas, 20, attended Cal State Fullerton. Another son, Cameron Thomas, 18, is currently attending San Francisco State, majoring in Business. Her youngest, Sefani Robinson, is a senior at Sacramento Charter High School and is awaiting her chance to go off to college. Ms. Robinson has been accepted to more than 10 schools. Among those are UCLA, San Jose State, UC Berkeley and HBCUs like Hampton University in Virginia and Clark Atlanta University, which she visited as an eighth grader.
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Senator Scott Wilk, "Don't be a Slacker"
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Alex Tanzi | February 17, 2019
U.S. Student Debt in ‘Serious Delinquency’ Tops $166 Billion
Student-loan delinquencies surged last year, hitting consecutive records of $166.3 billion in the third quarter and $166.4 billion in the fourth.
Bloomberg calculated the dollar amounts from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s quarterlyhousehold-debt report, which includes only the total owed and the percentage delinquent at least 90 days or in default.
That percentage has remained around 11 percent since mid-2012, but the total increased to a record $1.46 trillion by December 2018, and unpaid student debt also rose to the highest ever.
Delinquencies continued to climb even as the unemployment rate fell below 4 percent, suggesting the strong U.S. job market hasn’t generated enough wage growth to help some people manage their outstanding obligations.
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By Felicia Mello | Feb. 7, 2019
Not-so-free college: The limits of California’s Promise program
As student government president for the California Community Colleges, Iiyshaa Youngblood represents millions of people who scrape to pay for, and complete, even a two-year degree program. So you might expect the Inland Empire psychology major to be excited about a proposal to offer Californians two years of community college tuition-free.
You’d be wrong.
“That bill helps people who can already afford college,” Youngblood, a student at Moreno Valley College, says.
She’s referring tolegislationintroduced in December that would tack a second year onto California’s existing College Promise Program. The scholarship covers a year’s worth of fees—usually $46 per credit hour—for first-time, full-time students in community college districts that meet certain requirements, such as participating in the federal student loan program and offering counseling services.
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By Lamar Alexander Feb. 7, 2019 | Feb. 7, 2019
Going to College Should Not Be a Financial Albatross
Our country has most of the best colleges in the world. Students should be able to afford them, and borrowers should not be crushed by debts.
A college graduate paying more than $1,000 per month on student loans recentlywrotethat he had been told “to chase down a bachelor’s degree by any means necessary.” But, he added, “no one mentions just how expensive and soul-crushing the debt will be.”
Our country has most of the best colleges in the world. We also have the most graduates paying off college debt. Roughly 40 million borrowers owe $1.5 trillion in student loan debt.
The questions I hear most often about college are: “Can I afford it? Is it worth it? Can you make it simpler to apply for financial aid and pay back loans?” Administrators have a specific question: “Can you do something about the jungle of red tape that wastes money on overhead that could instead be spent on students?”
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