CA Community Colleges is considering a new fee to fight fraud

From Adam EchelmanCalmness

This story was originally published by CalmattersS Register about their ballots.

Under control by state and federal MPs, Community colleges in California are trying to deal with financial aid fraud. The scammers are increasingly penetrating 116 colleges into the community, posing as students in an attempt to steal financial assistance from the state and the federal government.

At a meeting on Tuesday, the board, which leads the California Community Colleges, voted to require all students to check their identity, which is not currently not required for most candidates. The Council also was considering requesting the legislature for approval to charge students a Nominal fee to apply – What many said should be no more than $ 10. But after more than two hours of debate, the Council rejected this proposal and instead asked employees to “investigate” a fee policy.

“Some of you asked questions:” Why is this happening so fast? “Said California’s Chancellor Sonia Christian. “Because on April 8, Calmatters released an article This was received by National Press. Guess what happened afterwards? Nine of our Congress leaders sent an email to the Secretary of Education of the United States and sent an email to the Prosecutor General and asking them to ask them Start an investigation to the colleges in the community in California. “

State representatives from both parties Since then, they have been calling for an audit of the process of financial assistance of the Community system. Christian said these audits are likely to happen. “We’re on a national scene right now.”

Students from all over the country told members on board that they were against imposing a fee, sharing stories of times when they were so poor that they did not have a bank account or $ 10 to buy lunch. Many had personal experience with fake students.

“Bot once took my place in a class that I had to finish and transfer. This scam almost costs me my future,” says Fla Kool, a student at the Santiago Canyon College in Orange County. “I understand the need for strong protection, but they should not come at the expense of the exclusion of a real student.”

When Love Adu, a student and board member, tried to enroll in Moorpark College, she said she was not able to check her identity online, so she had to drive five hours to present her documents personally. Prison students, uncompanied students, homeless students and students under 18 years of age, all are fighting the current software to check the identifier, she said. “These proposals would make it difficult for students to receive the education we are trying to serve them.”

Application fee is delayed

Public Colleges in California have a mission to serve each Californian and are funded mainly on the basis of the number of students who enroll. When applying, students sign a declaration, confirming that their personal information is correct. But in addition, only a few college regions require an identity to check online. There is no fee to apply for Community College and the training is free for low -income students. Once enrolled, the student can receive thousands of dollars financial aid, money that can be used to cover the price of books, housing, food and transport.

This help has become an easy target for cheaters who often Send dozens or hundreds of applications at onceUsing Real California addresses and social security numbers to create fraudulent college accounts. Last month, CalMatters reported that approximately one -third of the college candidates were fake. The State Chancellor Service said it had removed all the fraudulent candidates it had found, but many fraudsters avoid the opening and stolen taxpayers dollars. In the last 12 months alone, colleges have lost more than $ 10 million federal aid for fraud and $ 3 million state aid, according to state reports that Calmatters received by requesting public records.

Allowing fraud to continue to grow is “irresponsible,” said Board member Amy Costa before voting in favor of Christian’s proposal. These “bots” are after state rights programs, such as Pell grants and CAL grants, and the state’s work is to help the management use these dollars of taxpayers, she said. “We need someone to say” I’m a real person, “and payment is something like one of the ways we do.”

In the proposal, Christian said her office would consider the reimbursement or lending to the application for any student with “demonstrated financial difficulties”. Approximately 40% of community students in California are ranked for free training as they are considered low income as per State dataS

Even if the fee proposal was accepted, Christian would still need the approval of the legislature. It would take a year and include much more discussions, including at the Board level, Christian said.

But if the deputies continue to preserve the spotlights on the subject, changes can still occur, said Chris Ferguson, an executive Vice -Central of the State Chancellor Office. “If financial aid fraud continues to increase, I assure you that at some point there will be measures, whether it is at the state or federal level that apply to us.”

This article was Originally Published on CalMatters and was reissued under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Noderivatives License.