Affordability and Financial Aid: What Kind of California Do We Want? Joint Committee on the Master Plan for Higher Education President F. King Alexander, CSU Long Beach February 17, 2010

2

CSU Financial Aid Packaging For the CSU, grants are awarded first, loans last For many other systems and universities, grants are the last in Typical approach to packaging for CSU student: 1. Grants Pell Grant Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG) and National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent (SMART) Grant Programs Cal Grant State University Grant Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG) Educational Opportunity Grant (EOP) 2. Work Study 3. Loans 4. Federal Tuition Tax Credit 3

CSU Student Indebtedness Percentage of Baccalaureate Recipients Who Assumed Loan Debt CSU Average43% State Average45% National Average59% Average Loan Debt of Baccalaureate Recipients who Stated who Assumed Loan Debt CSU Average$14,013 State Average$17,215 National Average$20,098 *Baccalaureate recipients were those who started as freshmen 4

Declining State Support Forces More Reliance on Student Fees ( Constant 2009 Dollars) 5

6

7 BOTTOM LINE CSU is one of the most affordable university systems in the nation (88% of the public universities in America charge more than the CSU) Unlike other university systems nationwide, the CSU returns 33% of the state university fee back to the neediest students CSU remains one of the most efficient university systems in the nation. Our per student expenditures are among the lowest in the country CSU average cost to degree production measured by the Delta Cost Study, places the CSU in the lowest 25 th percentile of the 168 universities studied The Real Issue is “State Support” and “Lack of Balance” California has become one of the “Terrible 12” (among the nation’s worst states in declining support for higher education since 1980) California spends $10 billion less or % less in tax effort for higher education than it did in 1980 The California Master Plan is in jeopardy because California has been in the process of abrogating its commitments to public higher education since 1980 (2010 represented its 3 rd lowest point in 30 years)