November or December,” O’Brien said. “That’s just sort of a slight delay due to the rollout of the new program, the programming of the awards into our legacy system, which we’re in the process of upgrading.” Students already have received their standard grant awards and if they qualify, they also will get the first portion of the increased access award when the Student Aid Commission rolls it out. After this semester, the awards will be disbursed along with the regular schedule of Cal Grants and other aid the commission administers, O’Brien said. Rojas said that while it’s great that the money will be available to student-parents during the holidays, a time she says can be stressful financially, getting it earlier would have been even more beneficial. “It could’ve been helpful if we had it from the beginning—that way people would feel a little bit more relaxed with how we are going to be able to budget to complete school,” Rojas said, noting that finances at the start of a semester often determine how many units a student takes. “If there’s actually aid that could help you get through a whole semester full-time without having to work, that’s golden,” she said. “But if not, then you’re over here thinking ‘I’m going to take less units, so it’s going to delay graduation.’ It’s like a domino effect.” Robert Shireman, a senior fellow at The Century Foundation, a progressive, nonpartisan think tank, seconds the need for more outreach. Last April, the foundation released a report recommending sweeping changes in the state’s financial aid system, including better communication and less complexity. Shireman, whose focus is education policy, says the amount of assistance needs to be gradually ramped up, too, to about $2 billion per year in grant aid for low-income students. “We are hoping and working to encourage a budget next year that has a much larger increase in investment in Cal Grants to address the gaps that we’re seeing,” he said. “First of low-income parents, but also other low income students as well.” —AdriA WAtson
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