California Student Aid Commission North Coast Student Opportunity Access Program (Cal Soap)

The California Student Aid Commission is the principal state agency responsible for administering financial aid programs for students attending public and private universities, colleges, and vocational schools in California. The Commission’s central mission is to make education beyond high school financially accessible to all Californians. The California Student Opportunity and Access Program (Cal-SOAP) was established by the state legislature in 1978 and the CSAC North Coast Cal-SOAP Consortium is one of 15 Cal-SOAP consortiums in California, each serving students in a specific geographical area of the state. North Coast's Cal-SOAP consortium consists of the Humboldt County Office of Education (HCOE), middle and high schools where Cal-SOAP tutors are placed, Humboldt State University, College of the Redwoods, and community organizations/initiatives whose mission includes college access information and resources. Specific members of the consortium make up its governing board which makes decisions about the types of activities and services provided by the program. Cal-SOAP is instrumental in improving the flow of information about postsecondary education and financial aid while raising the achievement levels of low-income, elementary and secondary school students or geographic regions with documented low-eligibility or college participation rates, and who are first in their families to attend college.