Our commitment to equity and our future economic success require that we make higher education accessible to all Californians, and that our students succeed academically and graduate. The community college system plays a key role in California’s ability to meet these goals, educating six out of every ten college students in the state and opening their doors to students of every type. It is therefore deeply concerning that, of all community college students who intend to complete an associate’s degree, or transfer to a four-year school, only 24 percent achieve their goal within six years. One of the factors contributing to this low success rate is the number of hours that students work at their jobs. While community college is generally perceived as being the low-cost college option—and the system has been able to keep its fees extremely low—fees are only a small fraction of the full cost of attendance for a community college student. To cover their costs, students work long hours, negatively affecting their academic performance. At the same time, existing sources of aid are being underutilized. CALPIRG surveyed 2,679 students on campuses across the state to find out more about students’ work habits, their understanding of financial aid and how these factors might affect their academic success.
