Gov. Brown's budget proposal may toughen access to CalGrant aid by raising GPA requirement

Gov. Jerry Brown’s higher education plan outlined in his budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year could have serious long-term implications for the state, according to California’s fiscal analyst.

In its analysis of Brown’s proposed budget last week, the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst Office concluded that Brown’s budget proposal would severely restrict access to public education, while increasing costs for the state.

If approved, Brown’s budget would make the GPA requirement to receive the maximum Cal Grant benefits tougher.

The required GPA would increase from 3.0 to 3.25. The analyst’s report concluded that the proposed tougher CalGrant requirements could severely impact access for college students, while increasing the state’s cost of educating those students in the long term.

Brown’s proposal would cut the amount of aid awarded to California students attending private, nonprofit universities through the Cal Grant by 44 percent.

The analyst’s office anticipates this change will push students attending private institutions who rely on state aid to public universities.

The state will, in effect, have to pay for the added cost of educating these individuals in the long term, said Steve Boilard, managing principal analyst for education at the Legislative Analyst’s Office.

The University of California provides its own form of financial aid through the Blue and Gold Opportunity Plan, which will help mitigate the effect of the tougher financial aid requirements.

Brown’s budget, which relies on the passage of a tax initiative, will be revised by the legislature and will undergo a series of votes before a final version is passed.

In the meantime, the office recommended that the legislature takes into account possible changes in college tuition fees to determine how much funding to allocate to those universities.

The California State University Board of Trustees approved a 9.1 percent tuition hike for fall 2012, and the UC has not yet set a tuition level for fall.

Compiled by Naheed Rajwani and Danyal Budare, Bruin senior staff.