Revise Parent-Guardian Information Question Layout

This is a change management planning worksheet.


Purpose of the Parent Guardian Information Question

The Parent/Guardian Information question determines whether an applicant under 19 years of age on the residency determination date (RDD) is either subject to care and control of a parent or guardian for purposes of determining residency, or Independent because of one of the approved exceptions.

The Parent/Guardian Information question only appears in the CCCApply Standard & Noncredit Application IF the applicant is UNDER 19 years of age. If the question is displayed, a response is required. For residency purposes (unlike in general law), a minor is defined as someone under 19 years of age. This is specified in the SAAM, which cites the CA Ed Code 68062 (see below).

The main data field behind this question is “Dependency Status” = <dependent_status> and the values are defined in the DED.

SEE THE DATA SPECS & CHANGE REQUIREMENTS BELOW

In FY2018-19, only 7% of all minors self-identified as “independent minors”. all the rest are “dependent” and must provide their Parent or Guardian’s name and relationship.

Additional Information - Data

In FY 2018-2019, over 2.6 million CCCApply applications were submitted. For the purposes of this breakdown, spam applications were not removed from the total = 2,647,615. Of the this total submitted:

  • MINORS = 730,716 (27.6% of all apps submitted)

    • DEPENDENT Minors = 679,566 (93% of minors) and 25.6% of all apps were from DEPENDENT minors.

    • INDEPENDENT Minors = 51,150 (7% of minors) self-reported as having one or more special circumstances (either married, emancipated, do not have a living parent, or were in foster youth any time after age 13 or - as of the RDD are in active military, or are self-supporting. (2% of all apps submitted.)

  • ADULTS = 1,916,899 (72.4% of apps submitted by Independent adults, 19 yrs or older)


College Meeting Discussion Notes - December 2019

  1. Immigrants Rising, advocating for undocumented/nonresident students, has suggested that clear, non-threatening language be added to the Parent/Guardian Information question to better help these students understand, feel welcome and secure, and accurately self-identify

  2. Students want a streamlined, unambiguous question that clearly explains why they are being asked for their parent information (especially when they are 18 years old)

  3. Students want to know that their parent’s information is protected by state and federal laws and will not be used for discriminatory purposes

  4. Students who meet eligibility requirements need clear language so they can understand they can apply for tuition exemption through AB540 / SB 68.

  5. Colleges need to collect parent or guardian information from dependent minors (under 19 yro) in order to determine residency status for tuition purposes from the parent or guardian

  6. Colleges want a better layout in the P/G Info question in order to collect the minor student’s parent or guardian information

  7. Colleges also need to identify Independent minors and remove barriers for these students to apply & enroll

  8. Colleges want minimal changes to the data structure and the download files;

Next Actions

Work with the Chancellor’s Office to confirm what language can be changed and whether the proposed layout changes are approved.

  1. Mia Keeley offered to work with us to ensure all changes are compliant and approved for development

  2. Review proposal for layout and language changes

  3. Review Immigrants Rising's original concerns and feedback:

 


Problems with the Current Layout

The current layout has several issues:

LANGUAGE

  • The language in the current question is too long overall, too ambiguous, and filled with legal language that is confusing to the minors it is presented to;

  • The language can be unwelcoming to undocumented and nonresident minor students, and doesn’t explain that students who meet the eligibility requirements can apply for nonresident tuition exemption through AB540 / SB68.

  • And, finally, as cautioned by the student advocacy group, Immigrants Rising, the current language can be threatening and DOES NOT reassure these students that their parents' data will be protected and not shared;

LAYOUT

  • The layout is backwards - it features a confusing set of statements that appear to cater to identifying “independent” students rather than focus on the primary objective: collect the parent information required (name + relationship);

  • When a dependent student chooses the wrong option, the college has to do additional intake follow up with the student by phone or other time-consuming method.

  • While less than 8% of the minors are legitimately independent - the statements and the bulleted list make it seem that the applicant should answer that one of the bullet statements is true about them.


PROPOSED LAYOUT CHANGE

April 2, 2020: NEW Proposed Layout Alternative:

The revised layout allows puts the priority response option at the top (“I have a parent or guardian”) and adds a new response option to support the foster youth population, who are the ones who mostly get tripped up on this qustion. The reason is that it’s asking about the applicant’s parent or guardian, which the foster youth has neither (or is confused which one to choose). The new response option “I have been in foster care at any time after my 13th birthday” makes it clear to the foster youth what to do. In the backend the This additional option has the same value as the former #2 (independent user - NOT dependent on parent or guardian or their residency status.) The suggestion is:

Show the question with three response options to all minors when they encounter this page;

The “I have a parent or guardian” response is displayed first - as 98% of minors will fall into this category. The new foster care option - with elevated position - will also minimize confusion and prevent wrong choices.

The user flows are:

  1. If the user selects, “I have a parent or guardian”, then:

    1. The three Parent/Guardian text input fields display, including P/G First Name, P/G Last Name, and Relationship.

    2. All three fields will be required (when displayed)

    3. The associated value for Dependency Status <dependency_status> in the back end would align with “Dependent”

    4. The Ineligible for Admission flag would be set to False (=0)

  2. If the user selects, “I was in foster care at any time after my 13th birthday, then…

    1. The associated value for Dependency Status <dependency_status> in the back end would align with “Independent”

    2. The “Ineligible for Admission” flag WOULD NOT be set (= 1)

  3. If the user selects, “I do not have a parent or guardian, or at least one of the following statements is true about me”, then…

    1. The associated value for Dependency Status <dependency_status> in the back end would align with “Independent”

    2. The “Ineligible for Admission” flag WOULD be set to True (=1)

 

What Do We Need to Change?

The majority of minors are “dependents” (see Stats) and therefore the college needs to collect their parent or guardian information. However, because our current layout is ambiguous - students who are not reading closely are selecting the wrong option. The way the question is laid out, the student’s first instinct is to select the first option - the one at the top - which is: “One of the following statements is true about me” - which is the option that identifies the exceptions that classify the student as “Independent”.

Flip the Layout

We propose flipping the layout so that the collection of the parent or guardian information is collected at the top, and the “I do not have a parent or guardian…” option is clearly shown below.

The question is required and the student must either provide parent information or check the “I do not have a parent or guardian….” checkbox. When data is entered into the parent information input fields, the “I do not have a parent or guardian…” checkbox will be disabled.

Revise the Language

In addition to flipping the layout, the language needs to be revised to clarify why the student’s parent information is being collected, not just for undocumented and nonresident minors, but all minors. Acknowledging that their parents' data will be protected and not shared, will reassure the student with clear, non-threatening language.

Change: “By California law, qualification for resident tuition is based on the residency of your parent(s) or guardian(s) until you are 19 years of age, except in certain special circumstances. The following questions will be used to determine whether or not you need to provide parent or guardian information for the purposes of determining residency. Your response will not affect your admission to college.”

TO: Determining your California residency for tuition purposes is based on the residency of your parent(s) or guardian(s) until you are 19 years of age, except in certain special circumstances. Nonresident students who meet eligibility requirements may apply for nonresident tuition exemption (AB540 / SB68). This information is protected by federal and state laws and will not be shared or used outside of the admission process.

Select the statement that applies to you:

I have a parent or guardian.

I was in foster care at any time after my 13th birthday.

I don’t have a parent or guardian, or at least one of the following statements is true about me.

  • I am or have been married

  • I am legally emancipated

  • I do not have a living parent or guardian

  • As of <rdd>, I will be on active duty in the armed services

  • As of <rdd>, I will have been self-supporting for at least one year

 

 


Data Specification Changes

The data specification breakdown below shows the existing (current) data field specification in the left hand column, and change requirements to the data spec in the right hand column.

Dependent of Parent/Guardian

(Dependent Status = <dependent_status>

 

 

Current Data Requirements

NEW 6.8.0 REQUIREMENTS

Data Element:

dependent_status

dependent_status

Description:

Whether applicant is a minor subject to care and control of guardian per residency law—and if not, whether applicant is a non-minor or an independent minor.

Whether applicant is a minor subject to care and control of guardian per residency law—and if not, whether applicant is a non-minor or an independent minor.

Format, Length:

bpchar, 1

bpchar, 1

Values:

1 = Applicant is dependent.  Selected “None of the statements above is true about me.”

2 = Applicant is under 19 and independent.  Selected “At least one of these statements is true about me”.

3 = Applicant is 19 or older and therefore independent. The applicant will not have been presented with the parent/guardian questions.

1 = Applicant is dependent. Selected “I have a parent or guardian.”

2 = Applicant is under 19 and independent. Selected either one of the following: “I was in foster care at any time after my 13th birthday” OR “I don’t have a parent or guardian or at least one of the statements is true about me.”

3 = Applicant is 19 or older and therefore independent. The applicant will not have been presented with the parent/guardian questions.

Allows Null:

No

? ASK JOSH

Default:

3

3

Usage:

If this field = 1, parent/guardian questions are asked and many residency-related questions are reworded to refer to parent/guardian rather than “you”.

If this field = 1, parent/guardian questions are asked and many residency-related questions are reworded to refer to parent/guardian rather than “you”.

Notes:

General law identifies a ‘Minor’ as under age 18; however, the “Evidence of Intent” rules in the Student Attendance Accounting Manual (Chapter 2), based on Title 5 section 54024, specify ‘under 19 years’ as the differentiating criterion, superseding general law.

General law identifies a ‘Minor’ as under age 18; however, the “Evidence of Intent” rules in the Student Attendance Accounting Manual (Chapter 2), based on Title 5 section 54024, specify ‘under 19 years’ as the differentiating criterion, superseding general law.

Question Text:

Select the statement that applies to you:

 

At least one of the following statements is true about me:

  • I am or have been married

  • I am legally emancipated

  • I do not have a living parent or guardian

  • I was in foster care at any time after my 13th birthday

  • As of <rdd>, I will be on active duty in the armed services

  • As of <rdd>, I will have been self-supporting for at least one year


  None of the statements above is true about me.

Select the statement that applies to you:

I have a parent or guardian.

I was in foster care at any time after my 13th birthday.

I don’t have a parent or guardian, or at least one of the following statements is true about me.

  • I am or have been married

  • I am legally emancipated

  • I do not have a living parent or guardian

  • As of <rdd>, I will be on active duty in the armed services

  • As of <rdd>, I will have been self-supporting for at least one year

Spanish Question Text

 

NEED Spanish translation for the question response options above

Conditions:

Appears only if the applicant will be under 19 at RDD.

Appears only if the applicant will be under 19 at RDD.

Additional Text:   

By California law, qualification for resident tuition is based on the residency of your parent(s) or guardian(s) until you are 19 years of age, except in certain special circumstances. The following questions will be used to determine whether or not you need to provide parent or guardian information for the purposes of determining residency. Your response will not affect your admission to college.

Additional Text:   

Determining your California residency for tuition purposes is based on the residency of your parent(s) or guardian(s) until you are 19 years of age, except in certain special circumstances. Nonresidents who meet eligibility requirements may apply for nonresident tuition exemption (AB540 / SB68).

Response Options:

Must select one of the two radio buttons.

Must select one of the three radio button options.

[radio button] I have a parent or guardian.

[radio button] I was in foster care at any time after my 13th birthday.

[radio button] I don’t have a parent or guardian, or at least one of the following statements is true about me.

  • I am or have been married

  • I am legally emancipated

  • I do not have a living parent or guardian

  • As of <rdd>, I will be on active duty in the armed services

  • As of <rdd>, I will have been self-supporting for at least one year

Help:

For the “At least one of the following statements is true about me” radio button: Click this button if you are independent for one of the reasons specified.

For the “None of these statements above is true about me” radio button: Click this button unless you are independent for one of the reasons specified.

If any of the hyperlinks in the Question Text is clicked, a pop-up is displayed with the following text:

Parent: For the purposes of this college application, your parent is a natural or adoptive mother or father with whom you live and/or who provides your support, care, and control. If you have two parents, you can enter the name of either one.

 

Guardian: For the purposes of this college application, your guardian is a person other than a parent who has been legally appointed to provide your support, care, and control. If you have two guardians, you can enter the name of either one.

Emancipated: Being emancipated means that you have been legally released from the care and control of parent(s) and/or guardian(s), and are now responsible for your own care and control.

To be considered legally emancipated for the purposes of this college application, you must have received a declaration of emancipation from a California court, or have been legally emancipated in another U.S. state.

Self-Supporting:  You are considered to be self-supporting if you do not receive any financial support from a parent or legal guardian in the year leading up to the start of the term for which you are applying.

Financial support you may receive from colleges, institutions, or individuals who are not your parent or legal guardian does not affect whether you are considered self-supporting.


Foster Care:  You have been in foster care if you were removed from your biological family through an order by a court, which can include placement with foster parents, in a group home, or with relatives/extended family members. If you were living with relatives you must have been placed through the foster care system by an order of the court.

Foster Care includes, but is not limited to, placement in out-of-home care under the supervision of the Juvenile Probation Department. As long as you were placed within the foster care system by order of a court, you were in foster care. Having a legal guardian does not necessarily mean that you have been in foster care. If you need assistance with determining whether you were in foster care, you can contact the California Foster Care Ombudsman's office at (877) 846-1602 or fosteryouthhelp@dss.ca.gov

This following help text appears in right slider-drawer when user clicks on (?) icon (following the end of the first paragraph of additional text.).

Help

By California law, qualification for resident tuition is based on the residency of your parent(s) or guardian(s) until you are 19 years of age, except in certain special circumstances.

The Parent/Guardian Information question is used to determine whether or not you need to provide information about a parent or guardian for the purposes of determining residency.  

If you are under the age of 19 and have at least one parent or guardian, select the option, “I have a parent or guardian” and enter the information in the text input fields.

If you do not have a parent or guardian, or if any of the bulleted statements are true about you, or if you have been in foster care at any time after your 13th birthday, select the appropriate option and continue to the next question.

Your response will not affect your admission to college.

This information is protected by federal and state laws and will not be shared or used outside of the admission process. 

 

Hyperlink Help

 

If any of the hyperlinks in the Question Text is clicked, the following additional help text will appear in the right drawer.

Parent: For the purposes of this college application, your parent is a natural or adoptive mother or father with whom you live and/or who provides your support, care, and control. If you have two parents, you can enter the name of either one.

 

Guardian: For the purposes of this college application, your guardian is a person other than a parent who has been legally appointed to provide your support, care, and control. If you have two guardians, you can enter the name of either one.

 

Emancipated: Being emancipated means that you have been legally released from the care and control of parent(s) and/or guardian(s), and are now responsible for your own care and control.

To be considered legally emancipated for the purposes of this college application, you must have received a declaration of emancipation from a California court, or have been legally emancipated in another U.S. state.

 

Self-Supporting:  You are considered to be self-supporting if you do not receive any financial support from a parent or legal guardian in the year leading up to the start of the term for which you are applying.

Financial support you may receive from colleges, institutions, or individuals who are not your parent or legal guardian does not affect whether you are considered self-supporting.


Foster Care:  You have been in foster care if you were removed from your biological family through an order by a court, which can include placement with foster parents, in a group home, or with relatives/extended family members. If you were living with relatives you must have been placed through the foster care system by an order of the court.

Foster Care includes, but is not limited to, placement in out-of-home care under the supervision of the Juvenile Probation Department. As long as you were placed within the foster care system by order of a court, you were in foster care. Having a legal guardian does not necessarily mean that you have been in foster care. If you need assistance with determining whether you were in foster care, you can contact the California Foster Care Ombudsman's office at (877) 846-1602 or fosteryouthhelp@dss.ca.gov

Field Error Check:

None

None

Page Error Check:

Required selection; else error message, “You must select one of the options related to your parent or guardian status.”

Required selection; else error message, “You must select one of the options related to your parent or guardian status.”

Notes:

This question determines whether someone who will be under 19 on RDD is subject to care and control of guardian for purposes of determining residency. For residency purposes (unlike in general law), a minor is defined as someone under 19 years of age.

This question determines whether someone who will be under 19 on RDD is subject to care and control of guardian for purposes of determining residency. For residency purposes (unlike in general law), a minor is defined as someone under 19 years of age.

Data Element:

dependent_status

dependent_status

Revision Log:

 

September 2020

Parent/Guardian Name: First

 

Current Data Specifications

CHANGES REQUIRED (in red)

Data Element:

pg_firstname

 

Description:

Applicant’s response to conditional question for Parent/Guardian First Name

 

Format, Length:

varchar,  20

 

Values:

Text string up to 20 characters

 

Allows Null:

Yes

 

Default:

None

 

Usage:

 

 

Notes:

personal_info table

 

Xap Field:

Guardian/Parent name - first

 

Question Text:

First Name [textbox]

 

Conditions:

Only displayed if previous response indicates the person is under 19 and not independent.

Only displayed if previous response <dependent_status> indicates the person is under 19 and “has a parent or guardian” (not independent).

Additional Text:

 

 

Response Options:

Text string

 

Help:

Enter the first name of one parent or guardian. If you have two parents or guardians, you can choose either one.

 

Field Error Check:

None

 

Page Error Check:

None: optional response

 

Notes:

 

 

Data Element:

personal_info: pg_firstname

 

 

 

September 2020

Parent/Guardian Name: Last

Data Element:

pg_lastname

 

Description:

Applicant’s response to conditional question for Parent/Guardian Last Name

 

Format, Length:

varchar,  25

 

Values:

Text string up to 25 characters

 

Allows Null:

Yes

 

Default:

None

 

Usage:

 

 

Notes:

pesronal_info table

 

Xap Field:

Guardian/Parent name - last

 

Revision Log:

~~

 

Question Text:

Last Name [textbox]

 

Conditions:

Only displayed if previous response indicates the person is under 19 and not independent.

 

Additional Text:

 

 

Response Options:

Text string

 

Help:

Enter the last name of one parent or guardian. If you have two parents or guardians, you can choose either one.

 

Field Error Check:

None

 

Page Error Check:

Required response; else error message, “You must provide the last name of your parent or guardian.”

 

Notes:

 

 

Data Element:

personal_info: pg_lastname

 

Parent/Guardian Relationship

 

Data Element:

pg_rel

Description:

Applicant’s response to conditional question for Parent/Guardian Relationship

Format, Length:

bpchar,  1

Values:

M = Mother

F = Father

G = Guardian

Null = No response (question not asked)

Allows Null:

Yes

Default:

None

Usage:

 

Notes:

personal_info table

Xap Field:

guardianOrParentRelation

Revision Log:

~~

Question Text:

Relationship [menu]

Conditions:

Only displayed if previous response indicates ‘I am under the care and control of a parent or guardian’.

Additional Text:

 

Response Options:

M = Mother F = Father

G = Guardian

Field Error Check:

None

Page Error Check:

Required selection; else error message, “You must specify the relation of your parent or guardian to you.”

Notes:

 

Data Element:

personal_info: pg_rel

 

 


Review & Feedback

Reviewers

  • Mia Keeley - Chancellor’s Office

  • Colleen Ganley - Chancellor’s Office

  • Mitch Leahy - representing Admissions & Records needs from Santa Rosa College

  • Betty Glyer-Culver - representing research needs from Los Rios district

  • Nancy Jodaitis - representing undocumented and other non-U.S. residents from Immigrants Rising Organization

  • Debbie Raucher - representing foster youth minors - from the John Burton Foundation (who was very instrumental in changes to this question made last year to better support foster youth)

Who

Feedback

Notes

Who

Feedback

Notes

Debbie Raucher, Burton Foundation re: Foster Youth

Thank you Patty for giving me an opportunity to weigh in. I read this with the lens of the potential impact on foster youth and have the following thoughts.

  1. Regarding the sentence “Enter the name of your parent or guardian below, or check the box indicating you do not have a parent or guardian.” I would recommend adding to that sentence “…or otherwise qualify as an independent student.” It’s a little confusing for someone who is in foster care (or potentially someone qualifying as independent in some other way but who has a parent), because that first sentence implies that the box should be checked only if you don’t have a parent or guardian.

  2. You say that if someone enters a parent or guardian name, the box below with options for independent status disappears. This is concerning to me. I could easily see a foster youth entering a name in that space not realizing that if they go further down, they can check the box for being independent, despite the instructions. Once they’ve completed those fields, if the checkbox disappears before they get to the place where they’re reading the qualifications for the check box, they may not realize they should have checked the box. As we’ve discussed before, many enter “guardian” as a default when they don’t live with their bio parent, which then triggers additional verification. Could there instead be an initial question that offers two check boxes – one for I have a parent or guardian and one for I qualify as independent? That way they have to make a choice between two options and might be less likely to inadvertently check the independent box?

No longer applies to approved implmementation

Mitch Leahy, Admissions & Records, Santa Rosa College

 I am concerned with item #2 when you say “Could there instead be an initial question that offers two check boxes – one for I have a parent or guardian and one for I qualify as independent?”.

Through the lens of non-foster youth 18 years olds, they feel that they do qualify as an independent which is incorrect for the purposes of residency determination. This results in barriers for the majority of our non-foster youth students who have to followup with more paperwork.

Does not apply to approved implementation

Mia Keeley, CCCCO

I have the same concern as Mitchell. Do want to schedule a call? Will that be easier than discussing by email?

 

Debbie Raucher

In lieu of a call, I have another suggestion to offer. What if there was a sentence after “Enter the name of…” in bold that says something like “Do not enter a name below if any of the special circumstances described below apply to you.”

 


For Reference Purposes Only

Breakdown of Dependent Foster Care vs. Independent in Foster Care

Only 84 total minors indicated they are or were ever in foster care - out of 1.915M applications. That’s how many kids would be impacted by this change.

Everything below is for reference only.

From the SAAM:

  • Self-Supporting Student

  • Two-Year Care & Control:

  • Residency for Minor

Parent 

The father or mother with whom the minor resides; or, if both parents are deceased, the minor’s legal guardian.  Reference: EC 68014

"Parent" means the parent with whom the minor resides; or, if both parents are deceased, his or her legal guardian. Language from Ed Code: 68014. 

 

Determining Residency

  • f. The residence of the parent with whom an unmarried minor child maintains his or her place of abode is the residence of the unmarried minor child. When the minor lives with neither parent, his or her residence is that of the parent with whom he or she maintained his or her last place of abode. The minor may establish his or her residence when both parents are deceased if a legal guardian has not been appointed. 

  • g. The residence of an unmarried minor who has a living parent cannot be changed by his or her own act, by the appointment of a legal guardian, or by relinquishment of a parent’s right of control, unless the student qualifies under the Self-Support exception (EC 68071) or the Two-Year Care and Control exception (EC 68073 and T5 54047). 

  • h. An noncitizen, including an unmarried minor noncitizen, may establish his or her residence unless precluded by the Immigration and Nationality Act from establishing residence in the United States. See Note in (f) above. 

Reference: EC 68060, 68061, 68062, 68071, 68073; T5 54022, 54045, 54047

Note: The conditions in (f) apply unless the Immigration and Nationality Act precludes the minor from establishing domicile (residence) in the United States. Language from Ed Code: 68062:  

Foster Care Status

Dependency Status

Totals

% of Apps

Foster Care Status

Dependency Status

Totals

% of Apps

0 = No Foster Care

1 = Applicant is dependent.  Selected “None of the statements above is true about me.”

67

 

 

2 = Applicant is under 19 and independent. 

12

 

(96% of all applicants were NOT in foster care, regardless of age)

3 = Applicant is 19 or older & independent.

1,839,789

96%

1 = Currently in Foster Care

1 = Applicant is dependent. 

1

 

 

3 = Applicant is 19 or older, independent.

11,787

.006%

2 = I aged out/emancipated on or after my 16th bday.

3 = Applicant is 19 or older.

15,413

 

5 = I exited before my 16th .

1 = Applicant is dependent. 

2

 

 

3 = Applicant is 19 or older independent.

15,334

 

6 = I am not sure

3 = Applicant is 19 or older independent.

9,260

 

BLANK

1

1

 

 

2

1

 

 

3

23,822