Higher education experts expect Newsom to be more generous to academia than Gov. Brown. New funding and expansion of free community college tuition are anticipated.
Hispanic Serving colleges may be eligible for extra federal funds. But just as important, backers say, the Hispanic designation gives colleges a recruiting tool at a time when 51 percent of California high school graduates are Hispanic and their enrollments in higher education are increasing rapidly.
The upcoming survey by the California Student Aid Commission will be the first of its scope since 2006. It will seek information from about 100,000 students in all the public and private higher education sectors about housing, food, books, transportation, technology and other costs. Officials hope it could lead to improved financial aid.
The Legislature wants to maintain financial aid for UC and CSU students from families earning between $80,000 and $150,000 a year. But that conflicts with Gov. Jerry Brown's plan to phase out the program.
