Photo Courtesy of Southwestern College
INTERNATIONAL COMMENCEMENT—Southwestern College hosted a commencement ceremony in Tijuana in May to honor transfronterizo students. AB91 will allow non-citizen Mexican students to pay California tuition.
By Zeke Watson
La frontera just got a little fuzzier.
And attending Southwestern College just got a whole lot less expensive.
Gov. Newson signed into law Assembly Bill 91, legislation that will launch a five-year pilot program to reduce community college costs for low-income Mexican students living within 45 miles of the border.
Assembly Member David Alvarez introduced the bill earlier this year at the urging of local college administrators, including Southwestern College President Dr. Mark Sanchez.
Alvarez said the bill will make higher education more affordable for low-income individuals living near the border by allowing them to pay California residency rates rather than international student fees. He said it will also open opportunities for international students to transfer to four-year universities and prepare them for job opportunities that address gaps in industries across the borderlands.
“This was just a very natural step to take to ensure that future and current students have access to higher education and be able to pursue their educational goals,” he said.
AB-91 will provide a tuition exemption to up to 150 students per academic year.
“This is to remove (those) financial barriers because the students would now be eligible to attend at in-state tuition rates as opposed to a (non-resident) student rates, which is thousands of dollars more than in-state (fees),” said Alverez.
At Southwestern College, nonresident students pay $4,044 in tuition for 12 credits per semester, while California residents pay $552.
Dr. Joel Pilco, director of Binational and International Programs, works with students living in Mexico.
“We are an institution that provides opportunities for everybody, especially students who don’t have the means,” he said. “AB 91 creates an opportunity for education (and) an opportunity for the region to grow professionally.”
Pilco said San Diego County industries such as engineering and biotechnology need more college-educated professionals.
“AB 91 is going to be very effective and successful in educating students joining the workforce soon,” he said. “(They can) then opt for jobs on either side of the border. Probably more on this side. That’s the goal. But no matter what, we are one region.”
Sanchez said the borderlands is one community that can be elevated through education.
“I believe (AB 91) creates one binational, educated community that allows for workforce opportunities,” he said.
AB 91 takes effect Jan. 1, 2024. Sanchez said he envisions a future in which SC could offer courses at universities in Tijuana, pending other evolutions in the law.
“These rules were not written for the communities we serve today,” he said. “AB 91 is just one step in a systems redesign to better serve our communities and to ensure that we’re serving today’s students based on their needs.”
