The California Community Chancellor’s Office held its 2nd annual Chancellor meeting Tuesday, April 23, and discussed future plans for community colleges in California. As well as mentions of the state budget, enrollment and Black Student Success Week.

State Chancellor Sonya Christian was evident in her reminders to everyone about summer courses that are available on the campuses.

“Summer sessions begin in June and run into August and there are options for 4-week, 6-week, and 8-week courses offered both online and in person, depending on the campus,” Christian said.

These courses can be helped with through financial aid, as support services are available year-round for students.

The chancellor also spoke on FASFA and the issues it is causing for students across the nation.

“Also, a technical glitch has been blocking some students with mixed-status families from completing their Federal financial aid application,” she said. “A mixed-status family is a student who’s a U.S. citizen with one or more parents without a social security number.”

This issue is looking to be resolved, as mixed-status students are still being advised to attempt to fill out their FASFA forms, to access their financial aid rewards.

If students need help filling out either form, they can visit icangotocollege.com, which will provide step-by-step guides on filling out both forms. As well as visiting their campus’s financial aid advisors. Thursday, May 2 is the deadline for FASFA’s priority applications, while Sept. 2 is the deadline for students planning on attending community college for their next academic school year.

To learn more about how LMC is tackling the FASFA issue, read the story above.

The meeting also discussed the state budget, shedding light on the nursing program in California community colleges.

Chancellor Christian said, “So one of our key messages was to keep the 60 million investment in nursing education that was in the Governor’s January budget. Now community colleges are the most affordable option in expanding the nursing workforce.”

This is mainly due to the nursing shortage that was briefly mentioned by the Chancellor

At the state budget meeting, Christian stated that they are trying to keep the student funding for student housing open and to keep support open for the chance of finally having student housing on California campuses.

The meeting also shed light on students with disabilities on campuses. This will help these students get more access to financial aid, and reduce the number of credits required for full-time students with disabilities.

“The third highlight is Assembly Bill, 1885, which supports students with disabilities, and would allow more students to receive critical grant dollars for college,” Christian said.

Lastly in the discussion of the state budget, the Chancellor spoke on a possible reform of the Cal Grant, which would allow the same opportunities for financial aid for all students in California.

Black Student Success Week will take place from April 20 to 26. It will include Student Hour seminars which are being held from 6 PM to 7 PM, Monday through Thursday, and can be accessed through blkstudentsuccess.com.

Finally, the enrollment numbers in California Community Colleges have seen an uprise from last year, though 141,000 more enrollments are still required to meet the numbers from 2018-2019.

The Chancellor ended the meeting by recognizing Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Month, which takes place in May.

“May is also Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. As the most populous and culturally diverse state in the country. California is home to more than 6 million AAPIS,” Christian said. “Making NHPI Heritage Month particularly important.”

The next Chancellor meeting hasn’t been given an exact date yet, though it is set to take place sometime next month. Further discussing enrollment, state budget updates, and events taking place.