Students

Free college isn’t a new idea in California. But some community colleges, facing declining enrollment, are waiving fees for more students than ever, and adding on perks like free textbooks, meals and transportation.

Money talks — but actions speak louder than dollar bills. That’s the double-edged sword facing California as it pours an unprecedented amount of funding into a public school system grappling with declining enrollment, persistent shortages of educators and substitute teachers, and educational achievement gaps that only widened during the pandemic. And it was the unspoken […]

By officially prioritizing part-time work as a way for students to pay for college, the University of California moved closer to its goal of students avoiding burdensome loans by 2030.

Roughly 360,000 UC and Cal State students may soon receive about $1,000 to $3,000 to fund their educations this fall as part of California’s effort to make college debt-free. Another form of aid to help more community college students has a less clear path.

California has an opportunity to set a generation on a path to a lifetime of mental wellness, but there is much work to do.

California needs tens of thousands of teachers and assistants to expand public school to all 4-year-olds. Private and nonprofit preschools worry they’ll lose their staff.

Despite sinking overall enrollment, some community colleges in California are seeing more students come back. Targeted state aid is likely helping, but so is more in-person instruction.

The CalMatters College Journalism Network spoke with first-generation college students across the state about the challenges they face on campus.

Cal State resubmitted an application for state money to be used for student housing. The new application, which follows a CalMatters report on Cal State misreading the fine print, should produce 800 more affordable beds.

A new California volunteer financial aid program for college students is using less than half of its budgeted money on actual student aid. Should this money support an expensive volunteer program or go to students directly?