California Community Colleges are considering implementing measures to prevent scammers from using fake or stolen identities to fraudulently obtain student financial aid. One proposal under discussion is the collection of admission application fees and enhancement of identity verification for applicants.
The board of trustees of the California Community Colleges is scheduled to convene a meeting on July 22 to further deliberate on this issue. One agenda item is establishing an admission application fee not exceeding $10 or actual cost (whichever is lower). This step aims to “subsidize the cost of reviewing applications and prevent fraudulent application cases.”
The plan also includes proposals to provide refunds, credit exemptions, or waivers of application fees for economically disadvantaged students.
This concept was initially introduced during a board meeting of the California Community College system on May 20. The reason behind this initiative is the increasing number of fake students in the system. According to the board of trustees, these applicants use forged or stolen identification to apply for admission and financial aid at community colleges. Fake students receive financial aid after registering for courses but never attend classes.
Chris Ferguson, the Executive Vice Chancellor, stated during the May meeting that “approximately 31.4% of applications were identified as fraudulent.” Only about 0.2% of cases successfully reached the stage of receiving financial aid.
Ferguson noted that in the 2024-2025 academic year, fraud within the California Community College system resulted in approximately $10 million in federal grant losses and around $3 million in state grant losses. Although the total student aid reported by the Legislative Analyst’s Office amounts to $3.5 billion, the loss is a small fraction, but it still poses risks.
The institution has been working diligently to identify and remove fake students before “Census Day” to accurately report student numbers to the state government and avoid misreporting student figures for undue subsidies.
However, some members of the board of trustees are cautious about the idea of an “application fee”.
Board member Love Adu, representing students, stated: “Charging students applying to attend community college fundamentally contradicts our educational principle of being ‘open, inclusive, and community-rooted.’ Whether it’s $10 or $20, it may not seem a lot to some, but to many, it could be a child’s meal or a week’s worth of gas money.”
Vice Chair Bill Rawlings endorsed this viewpoint. He mentioned that an automated detection system has been implemented to “fight AI with AI, robots with robots” to combat fraudulent practices. He hopes that the application process can incorporate technologies from companies like ID.me for identity verification, supplemented by face-to-face verification or other online options.
He said, “We have designed multiple layers of fraud prevention verification mechanisms; it’s just that we haven’t fully utilized them yet.” He believes that the board of trustees has the authority to decide on “collecting application fees” as a backup plan. However, if other verification measures prove effective, there may be no need to resort to collecting application fees.
If the California Community College system ultimately decides to implement application fees, according to regulations, it will also require legislative approval from the state assembly and the governor’s signature.
Epoch Times has reached out to the board of trustees of the California Community Colleges and the chancellor’s office for comments.
The California State Assembly is currently discussing issues related to the fraudulent misuse of student financial aid. Assembly member Blanca E. Rubio and state senators Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh and Roger Niello have jointly submitted a request for an audit on the “impact of fake students (including robot accounts) on California Community Colleges, students, and faculty.”
The lawmakers pointed out that fake student registrations affect the accurate assessment of course numbers: “Fraudulent registration behavior creates false demands for ‘more courses,’ leading to schools offering multiple courses with insufficient enrollment, exacerbating teacher hour losses, and causing wastage of school funds.”
At the federal level, California congressional members are urging the Departments of Education and Justice to investigate cases of student aid fraud, highlighting that these fraudulent activities not only waste taxpayer money but also deprive legitimate students of opportunities. ◇