On Jan. 18 California Gov. Gavin Newsom launched a new program designed to help send California students to college debt free. The program, named #CaliforniansForAll College Corps, was created to connect students to service opportunities while helping pay for their college fees.

COLLEGE AND SERVICE

According to a press release from California Volunteers, the program is launching with openings for 6,500 Californians over two years. Students who participate will receive $10,000 dollars and enter a year of service in one of three prioritized areas—climate action, K-12 education or COVID-19 recovery.

According to the release, the amount of debt that college students in California owe was one of the main motivations for the program. According to a report by California Student Loan and Debt Service Review Workgroup, four million Californians owe over $147 billion dollars, with as many as 500,000 Californians holding delinquent or defaulted debt.

The program hopes to help students from any background, including AB-540 eligible Dreamers, to escape student debt and serve their communities.

LIMITATIONS OF THE PROGRAM

The program is open to students from 45 California colleges and universities. Biola is not listed among the schools—all were selected through an intensive grant program. Fellows of the program are selected by the colleges and universities. 

In an email, Communications and External Affairs Project Manager for California Volunteers Julie Goggins said the #CaliforniansForAll College Corps is not open to additional schools. Goggins noted that during the virtual announcement of the program Newsom mentioned that he hopes the #CaliforniansForAll College Corps can expand to other campuses and communities across the state.

For now Biolans will not have access to the grant opportunity.