Dive Brief:

• New tuition grants for families in California that make $80,000 to $150,000 annually are due to be doled out over the next month or so.
• The grants will go to an estimated 156,000 undergraduates, amounting to as much as $1,450 for University of California students and up to $650 for California State University students, the Los Angeles Times reports.
• The tuition program could expand over the next three years, covering 10% to 40% of state university tuition, if state funding comes through as promised.

Dive Insight:

Advocates for the program say that low-income families are protected from steep tuition hikes by state and federal grants, while the most affluent can afford to pay full tuition. Critics say the program is politically motivated and fails to address a more significant problem: affordability for low-income students. Frank Ballmann, director of federal relations for the National Association of State Student Grant and Aid Programs, calls the state’s middle-class scholarships "groundbreaking" because they don't focus on the best students and they apply to families with relatively high incomes, the LA Times reports. He predicts the plan could become a national model.