STATE OFFERS STUDENTS $10K FOR PUBLIC SERVICE
45 campuses set to offer ‘College Corps’ program in fall 2022
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday that 45 colleges and universities in California, including some of the most prestigious campuses in the state, will be part of a new public service program that will subsidize tuition for students who do community service alongside their studies.
The program, called “Californians For All College Corps,” will start in the fall 2022 semester with 6,500 students who will be deployed to part-time work in areas of pressing need like K-12 education disparities, climate change and food insecurity, Newsom said in a news conference with the leaders of the state’s public university and community college systems.
In exchange for 450 hours of service, each student will receive $10,000 toward their education and can get academic credit for their work.
Seven of the 10 University of California campuses will take part in the program in 2022, including UC San Diego, UC Berkeley and UCLA, along with 16 of the 23 California State University schools and more than two dozen community and private colleges, including the University of San Diego. The $146 million cost was approved as part of last year’s state budget.
The College Corps takes its inspiration from national service programs that have helped participants pay for education, like AmeriCorps and the GI bill, said Josh Fryday, the state’s chief service officer and head of the new program.
“We are making it clear here in California, like the GI bill, if you are willing to serve your community and give back in a meaningful way we are going to help you pay for college,” Fryday said.
The program’s website outlines a competitive application process for the program that it says will focus on admitting low-income students and “dreamers” — undocumented students who were brought to the U.S. as children — who are eligible for the program under a state law that allows noncitizens to access in-state tuition if they graduated from a California high school and meet other criteria.
University of California President Michael V. Drake praised the program as a way to help thousands of students pay for college and reduce debt.
“California is and always should be a place where education turns dreams into reality, where people from all backgrounds and walks of life can succeed. Where we use our talents to make the world a better place,” Drake said.