2008 Woodie Awards
Deadline Nears, Aid Available
Student Fees Rise Amid Enrollment, Failure To Pay Difference Proves Costly
Rachel Powell
Issue date: 8/25/04 Section: NEWS
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In late July the California Legislature approved an increase of $8-per-unit enrollment fee for California community colleges, effective Aug. 1.
In spring 2004, students paid $18 per unit. Now the fee per unit is $26.
Registration for fall began July 9. Because the state budget was not finalized until after many students had registered, they were charged $18 per unit during registration. However, the increase in fees is retroactive.
Citrus College began billing students for the difference on Aug. 17.
"We have gotten people to come in for the most part," said Lois Papner, dean of admissions and records. "We worded the letter so that students understood that it is not Citrus that is billing them."
At Citrus College, students' reactions range from anger to understanding.
Jenny Reyes, 18, said the increase was upsetting.
"They should have tried harder to inform students in advance, that way they would have had time to take it into consideration and decide whether it was something they still wanted to commit to."
Other students are more philosophical.
"The fee increase is not something to be surprised about," said Gabriela Reyes, 18. "We all knew that it was going to happen. There was nothing we could do to avoid it but keep ourselves informed throughout the course of the semester."
Different approaches were taken to notify students, not only about the fee increase, but also about financial aid.
"Students were informed prior to the sent letters," said Cathy Napoli, registration coordinator in the office of Admissions and Records.
"We had flyers posted all over campus and in the Admissions Office so that students would be aware of it before and during registration," she said.
As of August 2003, 5,670 Citrus students had applied for either the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or the Board Of Governors Fee Waiver.
As of Monday, of the 11,791 students enrolled at Citrus, 7,828 had applied for financial aid.
"Last year we made a lot of outreach efforts to inform students about the aid available to them," said Jan Szymanski, director of financial aid. "We found that many of them didn't realize that they were qualified."
FAFSA is used to apply for federal student financial aid, including grants, loans, and work-study.
To be eligible for FAFSA a student must be a citizen or non-citizen of the United States, and he/she must have a high school diploma or General Education Development certificate.
In order to apply for the BOGW, students must be California residents and attend a community college.
The BOGW assists students in paying enrollment fees and the health fee. Students may receive a waiver for any number of units, with no minimum.
The Financial Aid Office has made it its goal to become more visible to students this semester, Szymanski said.
Students are encouraged to visit the Financial Aid Office and pick up handouts and pamphlets that explain the process of applying for FAFSA and BOGW step by step.
A computer lab designed especially for students to apply on-line is also available in the office.
"The on-line process is completely error-free," Szymanski said. "The computer will not let students continue to the next section unless they have correctly filled out the previous section."
Students will be able to apply for financial aid up until the end of spring 2005.
Students who cannot afford the fee increase are encouraged to contact the Financial Aid Office at (626) 914-8592.