Our WorkEquityLifting Up Communities Historically Underserved by EducationAsian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Student Achievement ProgramAANHPI Student Achievement Program FAQs

AANHPI Student Achievement Program FAQs

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

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 AANHPI students

January – June 2022: CAPIAA, with the support of Asian Pacific Americans in Higher Education’s (APAHE) leadership, initiated and advocated for the California 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 California 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 AANHPI studentsAdded Sections 79510-79511 (CCC) and 89297 (CSU) to the California Education Code to legislate the California AANHPI Student Achievement Program

Email us at AANHPISAP@foundationccc.org.

Complete the Interest Form.

Eligibility for AANHPI Student Achievement Program Funding

The California Community College Chancellor’s Office (Chancellor’s Office) conducted research on colleges that would be identified as Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions Program (AANAPISI) serving. This led to initially identifying seven colleges. Further research was conducted by contacting the U.S. Department of Education’s AANAPISI department, where 40 California community colleges were identified as eligible. Selected colleges were identified as currently holding an open AANAPISI grant under AANAPISI-A/AANAPISI-F programs and/or meet the Title III definition of an AANAPISI in Fiscal Year 2022. After further research, a total of 43 colleges were identified as eligible for AANHPI Student Achievement Program funding. Our program will continue to identify additional colleges that are eligible for this funding.

Seven additional colleges were deemed eligible for our funds, increasing our total number of colleges to 50. This affects the total amount of funds per college and can be found in the latest version of the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office’s Compendium of Allocations and Resources.

Funds will be sent to the local County Controller’s Office, which is then sent to respective California Community College districts, and then disbursed to eligible colleges. The first set of funds, totaling $150,697 per college, were sent on June 5, 2023. We encourage colleges to communicate with their district office to determine the location of funds.

Update (November 2023): Funds for Fiscal Year 2023-24 should be available for use at your college following the same order of release as 2022-23 funds. Please check with your budget office at both the college and district level to find your college’s allocation. As an ongoing apportionment, AANHPI Student Achievement Program should have its own budget line.

Funds

Colleges will have two years for expenditure of funds. 

The first round of funding, 2022-23 funds for our first 43 colleges, has the special exception of having a total of three years, starting from Fiscal Year 2022-23, to spend 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 Fiscal Year 2022-23 funds being released in June of 2023.

As expenditure reporting becomes available in the future, please reach out to us if you have any questions related to our expenditure deadlines.

The initial Chancellor’s Office memorandum for AANHPI Student Achievement Program indicated 40 colleges, which was then shortly adjusted to 43 in a subsequent email announcement from the Central Office. 

The amount of funds announced in the Chancellor’s Office memorandum in the compendium was originally for 40 colleges. However, the cohort has been updated to 43 colleges. There is a pending change to the memorandum that will state the correct amount per college, $150,697.

AANHPI Student Achievement Program funds are ongoing. How funds will be allocated over time is to be determined, along with an RFA process. As of July 2023, our team can acknowledge that adjustments to the fund may be made, pending the addition of more colleges as we update the AANHPI Student Achievement Program Eligibility Criteria. More information is forthcoming and will be announced soon.

Funds are ongoing. Changes in exactly how much colleges will receive are based on updates on the AANHPI Student Achievement Program Eligibility Criteria and any legislative revisions. More information is forthcoming, and any updates will be shared as it is received by our team.

43 colleges have received $150,657.00 for 2022-2023. With the expansion to 50 colleges, each college has received $129,600.00 for 2023-2024.

General Use of Funds / Expenditures

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 AANHPISAP@foundationccc.org.

As of October 2023, there is no expenditure guidance for this program. 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 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.

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, 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 AANHPI Student Achievement Program funds will be required to submit an assurance plan upon receiving the first round of funding.

The Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Student Achievement Program Baseline Budget Report FY22-23 & FY23-24 is now open. This report is due on December 31, 2023. The 50 AANHPI Student Achievement Program colleges are required to complete this report.

  • Support services data should be from the most recent full year that the college has available. The reported data should include support services provided to all students, not just AANHPI students.
  • The entire AANHPI Population Disaggregation section is optional. However, we ask our colleges to answer the Yes/No questions regarding intersectional identities to the best of their ability.
  • “Underserved students” would be 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.” You can refer to this definition and others from the DEI Glossary of Terms

Yes! Our intention is to ensure advocacy for related AANHPI efforts and interests statewide. Including disaggregated data and tracking. 

Miscellaneous

No. The AANAPISI Grant is a federally funded program, while the State of California funds this AANHPI Student Achievement Program Grant. AANHPI Student Achievement Program funds are designed to support colleges in AANAPISI-aligned efforts and develop strategies for historically underserved populations in California.

For your college to receive AANAPISI designation and funding, please review the federal requirements.

Basic Needs​

Support for Specific Populations​