College Corps expansion request draws praise from alumni and critics cite high administrative share

The Governor's budget proposals for California College Corps were the subject of extended testimony before Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 5 on Thursday, with program officials and dozens of alumni and host partners defending the effort and the Legislative Analyst's Office raising fiscal concerns.

The proposals - The administration proposes a one-time $5 million General Fund augmentation in 2025-26 to support start-up grants and staffing to expand the program from 45 to about 55 campuses, and $84 million ongoing beginning in 2026-27 with 48 positions to sustain and scale the program. - California Volunteers (GoServe) described a larger figure in presentation remarks of $83.6 million ongoing to expand College Corps to more than 4,000 undergraduate students annually in partnership with over 50 campuses.

Program design and student experience - College Corps places undergraduate fellows in community- and public-service roles (tutoring, food banks, parks, disaster response and climate work), typically committing to 450 hours during the academic year and receiving up to $10,000 for the year. - College Corps leaders said the program is a service-and-workforce development model rather than a traditional financial-aid program; they emphasized program training, supervision and career supports as central to the model.

Supporters: students and community partners - Multiple College Corps alumni described the program as life-changing: examples included hands-on food insecurity projects, disaster-response deployment during the Los Angeles fires, certifications and internships that led to subsequent paid placements and career opportunities. - Presenters said College Corps has served over 10,000 students to date and fellows have performed more than 2.5 million service hours; last year roughly 3,500 positions drew nearly 11,000 applicants.

LAO concerns: high administrative cost, overlap with campus services - Natalie Gonzales of the Legislative Analyst's Office said the LAO understands the program's value but recommended rejecting the governor's expansion given the state's projected budget deficit and the program's high administrative share. The LAO brief said about $45 million of the $84 million ongoing proposal would go to administrative and program-delivery costs rather than direct student aid, and raised questions about duplication with existing campus services and financial aid distribution.

Administration response - GoServe defended program delivery costs as necessary to create supervised, career-building experiences, and said the $10,000 amount was set with higher-education leaders to match the typical gap many Pell-eligible students must cover. - GoServe staff said many costs categorized as "administrative" by LAO represent program delivery (training, evaluation, outreach) rather than central overhead.

What the subcommittee decided: The item was presented; no appropriation vote was recorded during the hearing.

Clarifying detail: If not funded, the program still has approximately $63 million in one-time funds to support the next cohort, per LAO testimony.

Context: Committee members praised the student testimonials but noted the budget context and competing priorities across UC, CSU and the California Student Aid Commission funding.