Postsecondary education: institutional and financial assistance information for students.

Under existing law, there are 4 segments of postsecondary education in this state: the University of California, the California State University, the California Community Colleges, and independent institutions of higher education. Existing law, the California Private Postsecondary Education Act of 2009, regulates the operations of private postsecondary educational institutions, as defined, some of which are not accredited. Existing federal law, the Higher Education Opportunity Act, requires postsecondary institutions whose students receive certain federally funded, or federally insured or guaranteed, student loans to provide, among other services, entrance and exit counseling to students with specified information about these loans. This bill would require each campus of the 4 segments listed above, and private postsecondary educational institutions subject to the California Private Postsecondary Education Act of 2009, to provide entrance and exit counseling, as specified, with respect to any student loans offered by the institution or a private lender or recommended to the student by the institution or segment. The bill would also allow an institution to assess a reasonable fee to the lender, not exceeding $50, in order to defray the cost of additional counseling. The bill would not apply to federally funded, federally insured, or federally guaranteed loans for which counseling is required by the federal Higher Education Opportunity Act.