Sonoma State University
PA-8: Affordability and Access

The CSU provides an admissions application waiver for low income students. The CSU also provides each campus with financial aid for low income students called the State University Grant (SUG) and Educational Opportunity Program Grant (EOPG). However, we do not have a large enough allocation in those grant programs to provide them to all low income students. Students must file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or the California Dream Application. SUG typically covers the student’s Tuition Fee and is available to undergraduates, initial credential candidates, and master’s candidates attending at least half-time. EOPG generally ranges from $200 to $500 per semester for eligible, full-time undergraduate students admitted to EOP. Low income students may also apply to Federal Pell Grants as well as the state's CAL B grants. In addition, our federal TRiO program (now called United for Success) has provided grant aid in the amount of $50,000 total per year (from $600 to $2000 per student in United for Success) to up to 60 Pell grant eligible students attending SSU each year.

Although the University offers no formal training for faculty and staff, counselors working in Advising, Career Planning, EOP, and our Academic Support programs meet several times a year as combined staff to coordinate our efforts to collaborate and refer low-income or academically challenged students to services most needed.

The Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) came into being as a direct result of the civil rights and student movements of the 1960s. In 1969, federal legislation was designed to encourage the inclusion of low-income and educationally disadvantaged students into higher education. We provide a comprehensive range of services designed to foster retention and graduation and to empower our students to become educated and engaged community leaders. The United for Success program, which began at SSU in 1974, is a federally-funded TRiO Student Support Services program designed to help first generation, low-income students, including students with disabilities, who have a goal to graduate with a Bachelor's degree within six years. The Multilingual Achievers Program is a smaller TRIO Student Support Services program that provides academic support to 140 multilingual students per year, and McNair Scholars, which helps 27 nontraditional students interested doing undergrad research and applying to graduate school. The McNair program covers costs of applying to and traveling to visit grad schools and pays research stipends. Finally, there are 6 pre-college TRiO Upward Bound and Talent Search programs housed at SSU that help middle school and high school students in Sonoma and Lake Counties prepare for college.

The University Scholarship Program is primarily merit-based. Some scholarships have financial need as part of the criteria, but students must meet the merit criteria first. CSU Future Scholars Scholarship is designed for low-income, first-generation college students. It is renewable for up to four years.

Guest Orientation is a chance for parents, guardians and mentors to learn what Sonoma State University has to offer them, and their students, while they are enrolled. Parents will hear about academic requirements and standards, learn how to "do business" while having a student at SSU by learning about Seawolf Services, hear about campus safety and health resources and begin to experience the same things their student will get to take advantage of all year. This summer SSU is adding a new presentation to its Parent Orientation called "First Generation College Families," (which I will be leading). This 45 minute session will focus on helping parents anticipate some of the challenges a first generation (and usually also low-income) student may face and talk about the resources available for them at SSU as well as how parents can help support their son or daughter navigate college.

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Students accepted into the Educational Opportunity Program will be mailed forms for the reduced Enrollment Reservation Deposit ( a required deposit toward your first semester mandatory registration charges) and reduced Housing deposit.

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The Children's School is a program of SSU's Associated Students. It provides high quality early childhood education services to children of SSU students, staff and faculty families. Student families may be subsidized or non-subsidized. To be eligible for subsidized services, one must be a student at SSU (regularly matriculated) and be income eligible. In addition, children of students referred because the child is at risk of abuse or neglect can be eligible for subsidized services. Student families who are not eligible for subsidized services pay reduced student fees. https://www.sonoma.edu/tcs/

The HUB - Students learn how to become the innovative people needed, and how to work together to create the kind of world we want to live in, a world for generations to come. Students are building this place together - The HUB - where everyone is welcomed, included and respected. Where students learn to develop and align the diverse cultures, capacities and talents to enrich our campus community and the world beyond. Where we learn as individuals and as a community to embody the human spirit. http://www.sonoma.edu/hub/

Additional resources: http://www.sonoma.edu/finaid/ - Financial Aid Office http://www.sonoma.edu/lss/ - The Learning Center/United for Success http://www.sonoma.edu/hub/ - An integral center for diversity, vitality, and creativity http://www.sonoma.edu/future/sos.html - SSU's student outreach program