Existing law authorizes the board of governors to enter into an interstate attendance agreement with any statewide public agency of another state that is responsible for institutions of postsecondary education providing the first 2 years of college instruction and that is an agency of a state that is a party to the Western Interstate Compact for Higher Education, for the exchange of residents, on a one-for-one basis, for purposes of instruction. Existing law authorizes community college districts to admit nonresident students and requires community college districts to charge a tuition fee to nonresident students, with specified exceptions, including an exception for those students who enroll in certain community colleges pursuant to a reciprocity agreement with California.
This bill authorizes the board of governors to enter into the Western Undergraduate Exchange through the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education. AB 1998 authorizes community college districts with 3,000 or fewer full-time students to exempt students from states that participate in the Western Undergraduate Exchange from the mandatory fee requirement for non-residents.
The bill also reduces the per-unit fee that nonresident students who are exempt from paying tuition are charged from 3 times the amount of the fee established for residents to 1.5 times the amount of the fee established for residents. This fee requirement also applies to students from states participating in the Western Undergraduate Exchange.
(AB 1998 amends Section 66801 and 76140 of the Education Code.)