State budget delay to not affect UC Cal Grants

The University of California is set to front the money for more than 66,100 students who will not receive their Cal Grants on time this fall because of the late state budget.

With an almost record-breaking budget delay of 79 days, the state will not provide Cal Grant money in time for the Sept. 24 payment deadline for students on financial aid at UCLA.

The delay is due to disagreement in the state legislature over how to reduce the state’s $20 billion deficit, and some legislators have said the state may not reach an agreement on the budget until the new governor takes office in January 2011. Until the budget passes, no Cal Grant money will be disbursed by the state, which is responsible for the grants that many students depend on to fund their education.

Ronald W. Johnson, director of the Financial Aid Office at UCLA, said that the 6,000 Bruins who depend on Cal Grants should not be worried about their payments for this quarter.

“The university will not be receiving funds from the state, but we are prepared to subsidize the Cal Grant money so that no delays are expected,” Johnson said.

Johnson added that after fronting the money to cover the Cal Grants, the University will seek reimbursement once the state budget is passed. Students who were promised a Cal Grant in their electronic Financial Aid Notification will get the exact amount they were promised without any delays or shortcomings, Johnson added.

Johnson said the only thing that would prevent a student from receiving the promised aid would be if they had incomplete documentation.

Yet some students are already feeling the stress of the situation. Third-year English student Trang Nguyen has lost $10,000 of aid compared to the last two years.

“I’ve had to resort to asking my parents to take out a loan, which I did not want to do, but there’s no other way,” Nguyen said.

Nguyen said that because of the decrease in aid, she has been forced to start applying for jobs and drop some of her extracurricular activities. She also pointed out that in previous years, she would not have been worried about her Billing and Accounts Receivable account at the beginning of the year, but this year because of the freezing of the Cal Grants it has become a real concern.

“I’ve applied for eight jobs, I’ve asked my parents for help, I’ve applied for scholarships, I’m constantly looking for things to help alleviate this situation,” Nguyen said.

Johnson said there was real cause for concern with the state’s $20 billion deficit. He added that it is unclear whether the university could continue to cover the money for the state in the future, since the university has its own cash flow issues.

As for when a budget will be passed, Johnson flashed a nervous smile and said, “Soon, I hope.”

Jasmine Hill, president of the Undergraduate Students Association Council, expressed similar concerns about funding.

“At a UC level, the regents are unsure whether funds are going to come from the state. In previous years, we always knew we would receive help from them, but with this frozen budget, the finance committee doesn’t even know, and the future of students is unclear,” Hill said.

Hill pointed to outdated laws requiring two-thirds of the legislature to agree in order to pass a budget as the main cause for the deadlocked budget, and she urged the student body to go out and vote in order to change state government.

“Cal Grant has been an issue that leaders of USAC, including myself, have been on the picket line about for years. I would encourage students to reach out to elected officials so that they pass the budget in order to get reelected,” Hill said.

Both Johnson and Hill expressed dissatisfaction with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s decision to continue a planned visit to Asia while the budget is in a deadlock.

“You really have to wonder about priorities, with him traveling overseas while thousands of people here are at risk because they depend on this budget,” Johnson said.

However, Johnson was not scathingly critical of the governor, adding that he hopes he will continue to support higher education. Schwarzenegger’s budget revision from last May included a proposal to save the Cal Grant system from elimination. But this came only a year after the governor had suggested cutting Cal Grants in order to reduce the state’s deficit.

“The weak economy has placed strenuous demands on UCLA, and on all state campuses,” Johnson said.

And while the financial situation may seem bad for UCLA, it does not approach the problem facing smaller community colleges, where about 121,400 students will not be receiving their Cal Grants, according to the Sacramento Bee. The problem intensifies for them because unlike UCLA, which has enough resources to cover the costs of Cal Grants for students at least this quarter, some community colleges do not have enough money to do the same and will have to leave many of their students to figure out how to finance their education out of their own pockets.

While this may seem daunting for some students, Johnson said the University of California is committed to assuring access to lower income students by funding them, and said it has made it clear that it will underwrite eligible Cal Grants for this school year.

He added that going forward, he would encourage eligible students to apply for financial aid, as there is federal money to be had besides Cal Grants, but said students should also look into private scholarships from outside organizations.

“Looking for outside scholarships is a worthwhile investment, and it helps students take control of their own destiny as opposed to relying on other entities with specific criteria,” Johnson said.

With the state budget still in a deadlock and funding for public education being stretched to its limit, Johnson said students should take their futures into their own hands so that they will not be as dependent and vulnerable if another instance like this occurs in later years.