Free money for college likely won't go as far this fall.

For the first time in a decade, proposed changes to the Cal Grant program will not cover fee increases at the University of California and California State University systems.

In his budget proposal, Gov. Schwarzenegger has called for a 10 percent increase in undergraduate fees at both UC and Cal State, but the maximum Cal Grant will remain $4,984 for a UC student and $2,046 for a Cal State student.

The governor has proposed increasing funding for the Cal Grant program, but he also wants to change the way the funds are distributed. Under Schwarzenegger's formula, more students would get the grants, but some will get less money than before. UC Riverside junior and Cal Grant recipient Michael Franklin, 20, said he already is considering a second job to pay for any fee increase and cover any loss in aid. Franklin now works part-time as a file clerk for a criminal-records company.

"Every financial-aid change is going to make me have to work more,"said Franklin, an English major.

Cal Grants, which don't have to be paid back, cover the bulk of Franklin's quarterly tuition. He receives $1,662 in grant money and pays $2,336 in fees each quarter.

H.D. Palmer, deputy director of the state's Department of Finance, defended the governor's proposals, saying California's public universities are still a bargain.

Under the governor's plan, for every dollar it costs to instruct a student in the UC system, the student pays about 31 cents, Palmer said. In the Cal State system, students will pay about 21 cents on the dollar.

The California Student Aid Commission, which administers the grants, is urging the governor and state lawmakers to raise Cal Grants' maximum amount to match fee increases, said Diana Michel, the commission's executive director.

"The key piece here is that the commission strongly believes that if you raise student fees, you have to provide adequate aid," Michel said. "There's very few alternatives for students. The alternatives are they would have to borrow more or they would have to work more."

And, under the governor's proposal, the maximum Cal Grant for private university students would drop by 44 percent. The amount would go from $9,708 to $5,482. In addition, students whose families earn more than $69,400 a year would no longer be eligible to receive the grants. The current cut-off is $79,800.

Students' uncertainty about the size of the award makes planning for the fall even harder, Michel said.

"That's unfortunate and really a situation that's intolerable," she said.

Palmer, from the Department of Finance, said the state will still pump almost $53 million more to the California Student Aid Commission's financial aid grant programs if the governor's plan is adopted.

"We've had to make a number of changes in higher ed to achieve savings," Palmer said. "The bottom line is the state will continue to make a significant investment in students in the state's higher education system."

UCR senior Melanie Campbell, a dance major, has decided to return to UCR in the fall.

"I'm kind of worried because I want to continue my education but I'm worried whether I'll be able to afford it," Campbell, 22, said. "If I didn't have a Cal Grant, I would be in debt up to my eyeballs, just for my education."