California is the only state that has had a two-year student share (net tuition as a percentage of total education revenue) of less than 10% since the start of the SHEF sector-level dataset in 2019. Student tuition revenue comprised 6.2% of total education revenue in 2019 and decreased to 4.3% in 2023. National trends in the two-year student share are greatly impacted by California, which accounts for more than 20% of the nation’s two-year enrollment. Excluding California from the data increases the national two-year student share from 19.9% to 24.9%.
California’s low student share is due primarily to the state having among the lowest community college tuition charges in the nation and its practice of waiving tuition for low-income students through the California College Promise Grant, formerly named the Board of Governors Fee Waiver. Through the closely named College Promise Program, the state also waives tuition for certain community college students enrolled full time, regardless of financial need. In addition to waiving tuition for many community college students, the state has need-based programs, including the Cal Grant and Student Success Completion Grant programs, that provide aid for students’ living costs. In fiscal year 2023, California provided $652 million in nontuition aid for community college students. (For survey purposes, this nontuition aid is excluded from two-year financial aid, as it otherwise would be deducted from gross tuition revenue.)