Since 2020, ASU has been fighting to gain and maintain access to the Cal Grant Program — California's main financial aid program that does not need to be paid back — which escalated in November with a letter from President Michael Crow asking the California Student Aid Commission to reconsider.
The request is for CSAC to "either approve ASU as a qualified institution or, at minimum, place ASU's application on the agenda for the December Commission meeting for a full discussion," according to the letter.
ASU's years-long pursuit of expanding into California has fostered a student presence in downtown Los Angeles and thousands more who take ASU online classes within the state.
There are more than 24,000 Californians across all ASU locations and online, so as part of its mission to increase access to higher education, the University wants to "continue to expand throughout California to ensure that learners of all ages succeed and thrive," according to ASU's website.
ASU even enrolls more Californians than most California public universities, according to the estimated 12-month enrollment numbers in 2024-25.
This document was sent to The State Press via email from Nikki Ripley, assistant vice president of media relations and strategic communications, on March 23, 2026. The document details ASU's enrollment of California residents compared to California schools.
Vice President for enterprise planning Christian Osmena said it's their goal to "advance the kinds of opportunities for those students to give them access to higher education."
What it comes down to, the University's Deputy Vice President of enrollment Matt Lopez said, is ASU's charter to provide as many educational opportunities as possible for anyone seeking higher education.
"Even though we have 'State' in our name, we don't see boundaries when it comes to giving educational access," Lopez said.
Accessing state aid in California has proven to be a hurdle for ASU, beginning in 2020, when the University was denied its application as a private or independent institution.
Part of ASU's out-of-state expansion included a series of deals in 2022 and 2023 that absorbed two private California colleges that, before ASU's offer, had issues staying afloat: the for-profit Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, and the nonprofit film school Columbia College Hollywood. These deals helped pave the way for ASU to gain eligibility for Cal Grants.
At the time, Columbia College Hollywood was ineligible for Cal Grants as a result of the student loan default rate, but "a carve-out in California's higher education budget trailer bill made it possible to regain them", according to a 2026 EdSource article.
READ MORE: ASU spent hundreds of thousands of dollars lobbying California's State Legislature
In March 2023, Columbia College Hollywood appealed their application to the CSAC, restoring its access to Cal Grants, but the commission was unaware of ASU's plan to take control of the nonprofit college in May of that year, according to EdSource.
The then newly renamed California College of ASU appeared on a list of institutions eligible for Cal Grants in 2023-24.
However, California College of ASU closed its doors in December, reinstating a barrier for ASU to be eligible for Cal Grants.
In September, the CSAC denied ASU's eligibility for Cal Grants for the 2025-26 academic year.
The EdSource article said a successful bid would open Cal Grants to roughly 900 students, according to the University.
ASU's argument for Cal Grant eligibility rests partially on California Senate Bill 1433, passed in 2022. The measure allows California's Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education to approve public universities based in other states, thus enabling ASU students in California to receive federal financial aid like Pell Grants.
However, according to EdSource, the primary sponsor of the bill, former state Sen. Richard Roth, said ASU's reading was "a stretch."
READ MORE: ASU's expansion into California seen as rare step for a public state university
"There is an ongoing conversation about: How do we offer programs that meet the needs of students? And how do we reach more students to let them know that ASU is an option for them?" Osmena said. "We believe that the California Student Aid Commission … has the authority to allow ASU students to receive Cal Grants."
ASU officials argue that the University's presence in California helps fill gaps in what California's colleges and universities already offer.
"We also know that their system is not serving all of the needs of the people hoping to have education," Lopez said. "So, when we see people wanting education, we step up and we provide (that) education."
California resident Brian Lizarraga, an online student studying public service and public policy, was always set on attending ASU, but under the Western Undergraduate Exchange program, he had to attend on the Downtown Phoenix campus.
So Lizarraga attended in person for his first semester of freshman year, but was provided an opportunity, called the Sacramento Scholars Internship Program, where students from ASU could go to California to pursue careers in public service, he said.
Under the program, Lizarraga said he landed an internship with the California State Assembly, but once the internship finished and he returned home, Lizarraga said he figured it made more sense financially to stay in California.
"I had more opportunity for professional development in Sacramento, so I ended up staying home," Lizarraga said.
Lizarraga said ASU shaped how he approaches his professional development.
"The flexibility that the online school gives me — I can do internships, I can do these different opportunities," he said. "If I were anywhere else, I wouldn't have the same opportunity, so I'm super grateful for ASU."
Even so, Lizarraga said it is frustrating how Cal Grants are something that he and his family would seek out to receive and even benefit from but cannot acquire due to attending ASU Online.
"I love California, and I want to keep contributing to California and ASU has played a big part of me being able to do that and do all the different things I've been able to do," Lizarraga said.
Osmena said they are working to amplify the stories of ASU students who are affected by this issue, so California's policymakers hear from those who are affected most.
"This isn't always a fight," Osmena said. "This is about providing students with access to the education that they're really working hard to attain."
CSAC directed The State Press to the EdSource article.
Edited by Jack McCarthy, Senna James and Pippa Fung.
Reach the reporter at elbradfo@asu.edu and follow @emmalbradford__ on X.
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Emma Bradford is a senior reporter for The State Press. She has previously worked at the Cronkite News Washington, D.C. bureau as a politics and money reporter. Bradford is currently also an editorial intern for AZ Big Media. She is in her fifth Semester with The State Press, previously working on the politics desk as both a part-time and a lead reporter.
