January 9, 2024

The UC Office of the President and NCCPC Partner to Maximize Scholarship Benefits for Students

The University of California Office of the President and Nor Cal College Promise Coalition Partner to Maximize Scholarship Benefits for Students

SAN JOSE, Calif., December 18, 2023 – The University of California Office of the President entered a partnership with the Northern California College Promise Coalition (NCCPC) for the next three years (2023-2026). 

The Memorandum of Understanding states, “to maximize scholarship benefits for students enrolled at the University, within all applicable federal and state regulations.” This partnership supports NCCPC’s implementation of AB 288, the CA Ban on Scholarship Displacement Act of 2021, which was signed into law in September 2022 and went into effect this academic year.

Shawn Brick, Executive Director, Student Financial Support, Department of Graduate, Undergraduate & Equity Affairs at the University of California Office of the President, worked in close collaboration with NCCPC’s Executive Director Meredith Curry Nuñez and the Coalition’s Campus Partnerships Committee to initiate this partnership in December 2020. “Our three-year partnership builds off lessons learned from our first partnership from 2020-2022 and acknowledges the passage of AB 288. At the University of California, we are committed to ensuring that students can maximize the local, institutional, state, and federal financial aid they qualify for as part of President Drake’s Path to a Debt-Free UC. We look forward to partnering with NCCPC and its members to support student-centered approaches while offering training and guidance that can support practitioners in responding to and resolving students’ financial and college persistence obstacles.”

The shared objectives of this partnership include, but are not limited to:

• Cooperatively identify student instances where the Coalition believes a student did not receive the maximum benefit allowable under federal and state financial aid regulations;
• Cooperatively share student instances with UCOP, including ensuring that appropriate permissions to share data is obtained by the students prior to the release of any testimonials and student-level personally identifiable information (PII);
• Provide guidance including best practices and student testimonials to support campuses and UCOP in implementing student-centered practices that reduce the potential for scholarship displacement to occur; 
• Provide guidance to campuses that include best practices to ensure private outside scholarships do not result in the reduction of institutional financial aid awarded to Promise Scholars (the term used to reference the students served by NCCPC members); and, 
• Work with the Coalition to provide training related to financial aid packaging and how the UC treats outside scholarships at least once every academic year, depending on staff resources.

Partnering with NCCPC aligns with UC Regents Policy 3201 which states that the University’s goal is “maintaining the affordability of the University for all the students admitted within the framework of the Master Plan.” Furthermore, this partnership aligns with the UC’s strategy for reducing student debt under its Path to Debt-Free program. 

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About the University of California Office of the President

The University of California is a world-renowned educational institution consisting of a system of 10 campuses, a combined student body of over 280,000 students, and more than 227,000 faculty and staff. UC is consistently ranked among the top universities in the world for research, innovation, and academic excellence, dedicated to fostering a diverse and inclusive environment where every student has the opportunity to thrive.

About the Northern California College Promise Coalition

The Northern California College Promise Coalition (NCCPC), a fiscally sponsored project of the West Contra Costa Public Education Fund, is a regional effort to bring together leaders, practitioners and resources and share leadership over the shape of college success efforts in the region. Founded in 2019 by 11 member organizations, the Coalition has grown to over 60 member organizations, and elected officials and agencies from Sacramento to the Central Valley. NCCPC was formed to solve the problem of a lack of efficacy that individual member organizations and agencies encounter when working alone. NCCPC gathers leaders, practitioners, and resources invested in supporting college success through policy advocacy, workforce development, and promoting best practices within education and youth services. NCCPC works to make systemic change by advocating for and/or directly implementing solutions centering over 250,000 first-generation, low-income, and BIPOC students in 12 counties.

To partner with NCCPC and join the movement to increase educational equity in Northern California, please visit norcalpromisecoalition.org for more information.