The 2022-23 Budget: Middle Class Scholarship Program

Mar 30, 2022 - This new approach to state financial aid, especially when combined with the much higher income ceilings of the MCS program compared to the Cal Grant program, raises new issues for the Legislature to consider.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4581

The 2021-22 Budget: California Student Aid Commission

Feb 8, 2021 - Certain Students Who Changed Living Arrangement Lost Cal Grant Eligibility. Due to the pandemic, on ‑campus housing is operating at significantly reduced capacity in 2020 ‑21. Many students who otherwise would have lived on campus are instead living at home with family.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4355

The 2026-27 Budget: Higher Education Overview

Feb 5, 2026 - MCS = Middle Class Scholarships and COLA = cost-of-living adjustment. Cal Grant Spending Continues to Grow at Historically High Rate. The Cal Grant program is the state ’s largest and longest ‑standing financial aid program.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5112

The 2022-23 Budget: Student Housing

Apr 8, 2022 - The new student housing grant program is modeled off of programs generally intended to gauge housing affordability for low‑income families living in the community. College students, however, can be dependents of their parents.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4589

The 2025‑26 Budget: Fiscal Outlook for Schools and Community Colleges

Nov 20, 2024 - After accounting for the freed ‑up funding and the cost of providing a 2.46  percent statutory cost ‑of ‑living adjustment for school and community college programs, we estimate that $2.8  billion would be available for new commitments (see figure below).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4940

UC Merced at 20: Campus Developments and Key State-Level Takeaways

Nov 7, 2024 - Nearly all of the students living on campus are undergraduates, with fewer than 20 graduate students living on campus. As of spring 2023, UC  Merced housed a larger share of its students than the average of the other UC general campuses (38  percent).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4937

The 2025-26 Budget: California Student Aid Commission

Feb 28, 2025 - The estimated total cost of attendance for students living off campus is $93,624. About 78  percent of students receive some type of financial aid. (CCA ’s undergraduate tuition level is slightly higher than a few other private art schools in the state and notably higher than one.)
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4994

Assessment of the Strong Workforce Program

Dec 10, 2025 - Correspondingly, a higher share of former CTE students than non‑CTE students attain a living wage, based on certain estimated expenses for a single adult in their county. The median change in earnings from before entering to after exiting college, however, is slightly lower for CTE students than non‑CTE students.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5098

The 2026-27 Budget: California Community Colleges

Mar 5, 2026 - COLA = cost ‑of ‑living adjustment. Governor ’s CCC Budget Plan Includes Proposition   98 Reserve Funding. The Proposition   98 Reserve is an account designated for school and community college programs.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5150

Update on Student Housing Assistance

May 7, 2024 - Under the new Higher Education Student Housing program, the state has approved 35 new student housing construction projects (consisting of 15 CCC projects, 11 CSU projects, 5 UC projects, and 4 intersegmental projects).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4898