College Opportunity News

SB 890 ensures that students and their families, beginning in middle school, understand that if they prepare for college, California will provide them the opportunity to pursue career technical education or a college degree in its community colleges and universities, and provide financial assistance for eligible students with need.

The program is simple, because it builds on existing programs, but powerful, because it packages these opportunities into one commitment made to students at an early age.  Facilitated by voluntary school district participation, students and their parents or guardians would be given the opportunity to sign a “Save Me a Spot in College” pledge to work hard, complete high school, and fill out a FAFSA application for financial aid.  The state in turn pledges to save a spot for that student in its community colleges and, if the student is qualified, in its 4-year universities and to provide financial aid to qualified students. 

Through this process, students, who many times have limited or no access to college guidance counselors, understand the steps to take to get to college, how to get financial aid, and that they have a spot in college waiting for them.

Early Commitment to College is based on creative regional partnerships between local school districts and the Community Colleges, CSUs, and UCs in their regions.  The goal of Early College Commitment is to bring these sorts of programs to scale in California and for the state to renew the commitment it made to students in the 1960 Master Plan for Education.

SB 890 was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee last August for consideration in 2008, the second year of this two-year legislative session.  The bill will continue exactly where it left off, returning to the Assembly Appropriations Committee this coming August.

Vote now for your favorite entries!  Online judging has begun for the 3^rd Annual Save Me a Spot in College scholarship contest.  The deadline for online voting is Sunday, May 31st at 11:59pm.

12,296 students entered this year’s contest with thoughtful, engaging essays, posters, and TV Ads answering the contest question:  Why should California’s leaders save you and your peers a spot in college?  The "Save Me a Spot in College" scholarship contest gives 6^th to 12^th grade students across the state the opportunity to express themselves to California leaders and to highlight the importance of college opportunity. 

We encourage you to go to the online judging website to view the Grand Prize nominated entries and vote for your top choices in each of the categories.  Tell your friends and colleagues about the contest – they can vote too.  Help us select this year’s Grand Prize winners!

More than 200 volunteer judges read the first round of essays and helped to select the semi-finalists.  ‘Judging Parties’ were held in Redding, Modesto, Oakland, and Los Angeles where another 100 volunteers met to pore through the semi-finalists and determine who would win scholarships.

This year, the Campaign will give out over $125,000 in scholarships ranging from $500 to $2,500 to more than 200 students in the 6^th through 12^th grades. 

SB 325 is an important step in the right direction and helps to set educational and economic goals for the state.  It then creates an accountability framework to measure the progress of the state’s higher education systems in achieving those goals.  Finally, SB 325 establishes a public process for collecting, reporting, and analyzing progress toward the stated goals – an important tool for legislators and others to use to make sound policy decisions around higher education in California.  Join us in expressing support for SB 325.

You may send your own letter of support for the bill by June 3rd by clicking here to download the sample letter.

On April 16^th Community College Chancellor Diane Woodruff, CSU Chancellor Charles Reed, UC Provost and Executive Vice President of Academic and Health Affairs Wyatt R. Hume, and Campaign for College Opportunity Executive Director Michele Siqueiros held a briefing to announce the release of an important new study about the potentially devastating cumulative effects that cutting higher education funding could bring.  Click here to read the Los Angeles Times article on the briefing.

Higher education in California would suffer a second major blow in less than six years if the state adopts the sweeping cuts proposed by this year's budget.  The University of California, the California State University, and the state's Community College system have not yet recovered from cuts that stemmed from the dot-com crash earlier this decade, according to this new study meant to aid lawmakers and the public as they grapple with balancing the state's budget.

As an op-ed in this past Sunday’s San Jose Mercury written by Community College, UC, and CSU leaders points out, although the Governor has restored some of the cuts initially proposed in January, the proposed budget “falls far short” of meeting the needs of California’s higher education institutions and the state’s students.

There will be a compounding effect over the next years as enrollment funding could force UC and CSU to halt their existing student enrollment at current levels - turning away thousands of 10th through 12th graders who have worked hard to meet requirements.  For the state's Community Colleges, who have a mandate of open enrollment and already operate with lean budgets, these cuts could significantly increase class size and reduce services that support student success.  Moreover, budget cuts like these force California's higher education institutions to rely on unpredicted hikes in student fees - stop gap budgetary measures that take students and parents by surprise.

All of these changes, according to the study, come at precisely the time when the state needs to be enrolling and graduating many more students to meet the demand of a more educated workforce.

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KnowHow2Go Events across the state inform students about college CCO partners with SEIU Local 1021, CSU Super Sunday, and West Adams Prep.     back to top>>

• Stuart Foundation - $100,000
• The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation - $30,000 
• McConnell Foundation - $100,000
• College Access Foundation - $200,000
• Walter S. Johnson Foundation - $75,000
• Koret Foundation - $150,000

 

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Jessie Ryan becomes the Campaign's new Associate Director After three years as Central Valley Director, Ryan joins Executive Director Michele Siqueiros to lead the Campaign into its next phase of work.    back to top>>

The Campaign for College Opportunity is pleased to announce that Jessie Ryan has become the Associate Director and will work alongside Executive Director Michele Siqueiros to lead the Campaign into its next phase of work.  Ryan is responsible for outreach, advocacy, and policy efforts statewide.  She is based out of the Campaign's Modesto office at the Great Valley Center.

Prior to her position as Associate Director, Ryan served as the Campaign's Central Valley Director from 2005-2008.  Before joining the Campaign, Ryan was a Circuit Rider for the Great Valley Center's Community-based Assistance Programs (CAPs) working to support activities and organizations that promote the economic, social, and environmental well-being of California's Great Central Valley.  Serving as a technical advisor on local issues throughout the 19-county region, Ryan provided extensive outreach to rural and linguistically isolated communities.

Ryan was a graduate of the Institute for Developing Emerging Area Leaders (IDEAL) Fellowship program, which is dedicated to engaging a diverse group of valley stakeholders in strengthening effective public policy decision-making.  In 2007, Ryan graduated from Leadership Modesto - a program offered by the Modesto Chamber of Commerce and developed to identify and encourage area leaders to assume greater leadership roles in the region.  She was featured on the cover of the Progress magazine commemorating the program's 25 year anniversary.  Ryan was also selected to represent the valley in the Pew Partnership's LeadershipPlenty - a program designed to teach participants civic skills such as taking action, managing conflict, building partnerships, and engaging diverse communities in creating long-term positive community change.