Fraud pushes California’s community colleges to consider an application fee. Is it worth it?
Adam Echelman
May 21, 2025
In summary
Faced with increasing financial aid fraud, the board of California’s community colleges is considering ways to charge students an application fee and tighten its identity verification process. Students are pushing back.
Under scrutiny from state and federal lawmakers, California’s community colleges are trying to crack down on financial aid fraud. Scammers have increasingly infiltrated the state’s 116 community colleges, posing as students in an effort to steal financial aid from the state and federal government.
At a meeting Tuesday, the board that oversees California’s community colleges voted to require all students to verify their identity, which is currently optional for most applicants. The board also considered asking the Legislature for approval to charge students a nominal application fee — which many said should be no more than $10. But after more than two hours of debate, the board rejected that proposal and instead asked staff to “explore” a fee policy.
