Our WorkEquityLifting Up Communities Historically Underserved by EducationCCC Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Student Achievement ProgramCCC AANHPI Student Achievement Program FAQs

CCC AANHPI Student Achievement Program FAQs

About the CCC Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Student Achievement Program About

Principle: All efforts are in development and are subject to change pending partner engagement, time frame adjustments, and meaningful application.

September 2019: Dr. Timothy Fong expressed concerns about the potential loss of federal grant funding for MSI

March 2021: The Atlanta Spa Shooting escalated the need for California and the United States to act, leading to the Stop AAPI Hate Movement. This led the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs (CAPIAA) to engage in conversations about statewide funding for anti-hate initiatives including higher education

July 2021: The API Equity Budget was included in the California FY 2022-2023 state budget, allocating funds to CAPIAA to form a higher education equity workgroup to address the needs of CCC AANHPI students

January – June 2022: CAPIAA, with the support of Asian Pacific Americans in Higher Education’s (APAHE) leadership, initiated and advocated for the CCC AANHPI Student Achievement Program proposal

May 2022: The Campaign for College Opportunity published a report highlighting the need to invest in AANHPI students

June 2022: Governor Newsom and the California State Legislature passed the state budget and approved CAPIAA’s budget proposal to create the CCC AANHPI Student Achievement Program

The program provides $8M for both California Community Colleges and California State Universities; a total of $16M in ongoing funding to serve low-income, first-generation CCC AANHPI students Added Sections 79510-79511 (CCC) and 89297 (CSU) to the California Education Code to legislate the California AANHPI Student Achievement Program

Email us at [email protected].

Complete the Interest Form.

Eligibility for CCC AANHPI Student Achievement Program Funding

Fiscal Year 2025-2026: There were no changes to the program eligibility. All 51 colleges from the previous year will continue to receive funding. The 51 colleges can be found in the 2025-2026 California Community Colleges Compendium of Allocations and Resources.

Every fiscal year, our program will continue to identify additional colleges eligible for this funding.

Fiscal Year 2024-2025: One additional college was deemed eligible for our funds, increasing our total number of colleges to 51. The 51 colleges can be found in the 2024-25 California Community Colleges Compendium of Allocations and Resources. 

Fiscal Year 2023-2024: Seven additional colleges were deemed eligible for our funds, increasing our total number of colleges to 50. The 50 colleges can be found in the 2023-24 California Community Colleges Compendium of Allocations and Resources.

Fiscal Year 2022-2023: The California Community College Chancellor’s Office (Chancellor’s Office) conducted research on colleges that could be eligible for the Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions Program (AANAPISI). This led to the initial identification of seven colleges. Further research was conducted by contacting the U.S. Department of Education’s AANAPISI department, which identified 40 California community colleges as eligible. Those selected colleges held an open AANAPISI grant under. Those selected colleges held an open AANAPISI grant under AANAPISI-A/AANAPISI-F programs and/or met the Title III definition of an AANAPISI in Fiscal Year 2022. After further research, 43 colleges were identified as eligible for AANHPI Student Achievement Program funding. The 43 colleges can be found in the 2022-23 California Community Colleges Compendium of Allocations and Resources. 

Our program will continue to identify additional colleges eligible for this funding.

Funds will be sent to the local County Controller’s Office, which is then sent to respective California Community College districts and disbursed to eligible colleges. We encourage colleges to communicate with their district office to determine the location of funds.

Please check with your budget office at the college and district levels to find your college’s allocations. As an ongoing apportionment, the CCC AANHPI Student Achievement Program should have its own budget line.

Funds

Year 1 (2022-2023), 43 colleges received $150,697.00 each. Year 2 (2023-2024), 50 colleges received $129,600.00 each. Year 3 (2024-2025), 51 colleges received a variable amount based on our 2024-25 Funding Formula. Year 4 (2025-2026), 51 colleges received a variable amount based on our 2025-2026 Funding Formula. The Year 4 (2025-2026) amounts are detailed in the 2025-2026 California Community Colleges Compendium of Allocations and Resources.

To receive a cumulative total of your college’s funding, please contact the Central Office.

Colleges will have two years to expend their funds. 

The 2022-2023 funds for our first 43 colleges have a special three-year exception, starting from Fiscal Year 2022-2023, to spend the funds. This means for 43 colleges, both their Year 1 and 2 Programmatic funds are due to be invested by the same deadline. This special circumstance was due to the release of Fiscal Year 2022-2023 funds in June 2023.

All colleges that received funding during Fiscal Years 2022-2023, 2023-2024, or received the $10,000 bonus allocation have been granted an automatic extension to expend those funds through December 31, 2025. 

If your college anticipates needing additional time beyond this date, please submit a request through the Expenditure and Spend Down Plans section of the CCC AANHPI SAP Annual Report. Requests must include a clear plan for using the remaining funds and are subject to review and approval by Zahra Alfalak-Porter, CCC AANHPI SAP Program Manager. Please note: additional extensions are not automatically granted. If approved, a formal written confirmation will be issued, authorizing expenditures beyond the December 31, 2025, deadline.

Please reach out to the Central Office if you have any questions related to your college’s expenditure deadlines.

Example CollegeYear 1 (2022-2023)Year 2 (2023-2024)Year 3 (2024-2025)2024 AdditionYear 4 (2025-2026)
Funding Amount$150,697.00$129,600.00Based on
Funding Formula		$10,000.00Based on
Funding Formula
Spend by Date
December 31, 2025December 31, 2025June 30, 2026June 30, 2026June 30, 2027

CCC AANHPI Student Achievement Program funds are ongoing. Changes in exactly how much colleges will receive are based on updates on the CCC AANHPI Student Achievement Program Eligibility Criteria and any legislative revisions. Any updates will be shared as it is received by the Central Office.

General Use of Funds / Expenditures

CCC AANHPI Student Achievement Program funds are designed to support AANAPISI-aligned efforts, and develop strategies for historically underserved populations in California. 

Requires use in services or projects in alignment with AANAPISI grant and:

  1. Culturally responsive learning communities
  2. Advising and counseling services
  3. Mental health counseling and awareness services
  4. Career development, career readiness, and employment services
  5. Supplemental instruction and tutoring, such as English language development and support
  6. Asian American, Pacific Islander studies courses and curriculum development
  7. Leadership development, internships, and mentorships

Colleges’ Use of Funds shall fit the intention of the Education Code Section 79510 (CCC) and shall align with the listed A-G services and projects.

Colleges need to seek guidance from their local General Council. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the college to interpret the legislative language for the particular expenditure and get campus approval and agreement that it aligns with the intent of the legislation.

For any specific questions, please do not hesitate to email us at [email protected].

Colleges and districts are ultimately responsible for expenditure decisions; responsibilities cannot be delegated. Colleges are strongly urged to develop policies and procedures to document and justify program expenditures.

Use of Funds shall fit the intention of the Education Code Section 79510-79511 (CCC) and shall align with the listed A-G services and projects.

Use of Funds shall fall in line with the principles of Reasonable and Justifiable, and Ultimate responsibility. “Reasonable” means expenditures are prudent and every effort is made to utilize funds efficiently. “Justifiable” means expenditures are consistent with goals and activities related to the CCC AANHPI Student Achievement Program.

In addition, the Chancellor’s Office has identified the following non-allowable expenditures:

  1. Gifts: Public funds may not be used for gifts or monetary awards of any kind. Expenditures for a public purpose are not considered a gift of public funds. 
  2. Stipends for students: Funds cannot be used to pay stipends to students for participation in program or classroom activities.
  3. Political Contributions. 
  4. Courses: Funds may not be used to pay for the delivery of courses that generate FTES. An exception to this is that funds may be used to supplement instructional support courses that do not receive apportionment funding that covers expenses incurred by these courses. 
  5. Supplanting: Any funds spent on these programs should supplement, not replace, general or state categorical (restricted) district funds expended on similar program activities prior to the availability of program funding. This restriction applies to categorical programs and any other federal, state, and county programs. Supplanting rules do not apply to expenditures previously paid for by BSI, SE or SSSP.

Can AANHPI SAP funds be transferred into a fiduciary account?
No. Funds cannot be transferred into fiduciary or other pooled accounts. All expenditures must remain tied to their original allocation year for auditing and reporting purposes, as these are taxpayer dollars. While extensions may be granted upon review and approval by the AANHPI Central Office, they are intended to provide campuses with additional time to utilize funds within the existing allocation framework, not to transfer funds into separate accounts. This ensures that expenditures can be clearly tracked back to the source allocation year and remain in compliance with state auditing requirements.

These will be local decisions. Colleges shall use the funding on expenditures that align with the Education Code Section 79510 (CCC) and related program expenditure guidelines. The ultimate responsibility of fund expenditures falls to the community college. Please be aware that expenditures will be reported to the Chancellor’s Office through reporting in development.

Unlike AANAPISI funds, which are federal dollars, and cannot be used to pay undocumented students or international students to be tutors, CCC AANHPI Student Achievement Program fund allocations are decided by the college, the district, and the colleges local general council. Please connect with your local general council on approval to use these funds to hire students with limited or no documented citizenship. 

This may be a difficult endeavor based on current legislative intent for funding use. We do defer with encouraging colleges to consider any funding decisions as whether they are in alignment with the legislative intent, and ensuring it is reasonable, justifiable, and defensible. We also encourage colleges to also consult with your legal counsel. 

We are currently working, as the Central Office, on finding ways to assist colleges in professional development opportunities for the faculty/staff side. Stay tuned for more updates as to how the Central Office will plan to provide support in this area for colleges.

We leave this to the discretion of the local college, as long as the college’s decision meets the intention of the Education Code Section 79510-79511 (CCC).

Reporting

Principle: The Reporting Tools are in development and are subject to change. We will involve all partners in the development of these tools to ensure alignment. All colleges receiving CCC AANHPI Student Achievement Program funds will be required to submit an assurance plan to the Central Office upon receiving funding. The assurance plan will provide a status update on the college’s progress and outline how they plan to meet the program’s requirements.

The Year 1 and Year 2 Spend Down Deadline is December 31, 2025. All 51 colleges will receive direct communication from the Central Office with detailed instructions and reporting requirements to support timely submission.

Data submitted should be from the most recent full academic year that the college has available at the time of reporting. For example, if completing a form during Spring 2025, data should be reported for Academic Year 2023-2024.

Terms and Definitions

  • Persistence refers to the continuation of enrollment from one term to the next. It is often measured by whether a student enrolls the following semester or academic year after their initial enrollment. For example, if a student enrolls in the fall semester and returns in the spring, they are consisted persistent.
  • Retention focuses on whether students stay enrolled at the same institution for a longer period, typically measured from the first year or term through graduation or transfer.
  • Underserved students are defined as students who have not been afforded the same educational opportunities and equitable resources as some of their peers or as other students in the academic pipeline. This group of students includes low-income, minoritized, disabled, and first-generation students. This definition and others can be found in the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Glossary of Terms. 

Yes! We intend to ensure advocacy for related CCC AANHPI efforts and interests statewide, including disaggregated data and tracking.

Miscellaneous

No, this funding is not the same as the AANAPISI Grant. The CCC AANHPI Student Achievement Program is a California state funded program to support colleges in their AANAPISI-aligned efforts and strategies for serving historically underserved populations in California. It is ongoing funding and not a grant.

While both programs support similar communities, the AANAPISI Grant is a federally funded program.

For your college to learn more about applying for and receiving AANAPISI designation and funding, please review the federal Eligibility Designations for Higher Education Programs.

Basic Needs​

Support for Specific Populations​