|
1) |
|
Difficult Choices
CCO takes an official position on how to best prioritize the proposed cuts to higher education in California
back to top>> |
Since the Campaign for College Opportunity's inception, we have supported greater investment in higher education to expand student access and opportunity for all California's students. California’s unprecedented budget crisis threatens to have a devastating impact on generations of students and the state's future economic well-being, unless it is resolved soon. While we continue to support new revenues as a vehicle to create a more balanced budget, we recognize that we must minimize the severity of the cuts to higher education.
This means making difficult choices and prioritizing spending cuts in ways that do not fundamentally undermine California’s proud tradition of access to college for high school and re-entry students. Each of these recommendations reflect three core values, preserving access and maintaining affordability to college for students, and providing greater flexibility to our higher education institutions as they deal with these challenging cuts. Each of the three public higher education systems are critical to the future of our state and the preparation of our workforce, the magnitude of the cuts facing all three segments are significant and we believe the burden of these cuts must be shared amongst them. After careful review of the latest budget proposals from the Governor's Office and the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO), we recommend the following:
Student Affordability:
The Cal Grant program has been the cornerstone of California’s commitment to college access and affordability for more than 50 years. The loss of Cal Grants will push lower income students off the college track, delay their progress, or leave them deeper in debt as they struggle to make ends meet.
- Oppose the reduction of the Cal Grant maximum award for private institutions, the elimination of new awards for the Cal Grant competitive program, the decoupling of the Cal Grant award from UC/CSU fee increases, the elimination of all new Cal Grants for incoming freshman and phasing out of all future Cal Grants. Support the freeze on Cal Grant income eligibility levels. ($7 million in savings)
California Community Colleges:
California Community Colleges are a critical pathway for students, serving more than 2.6 million students annually and the majority of the state's undergraduates. The recommendations below are intended to prioritize funding, increase revenue and provide flexibility to colleges so that they can deal with cuts in a matter that makes the most sense locally. We support increasing community college fees in order to raise much needed community college revenue and provide this revenue directly to the community colleges. This is simply a better option than reducing course offerings or eliminating student services that delay a students ability to reach their college goals.
- Support the LAO recommendation to fund California Community College physical education and recreational courses at non-credit rate. ($120 million in savings)
fee revenue remain with the local college district to offset the property tax shortfall, and that 25% of the additional fee revenue be allocated towards financial aid. (Estimated $120 million in additional revenue for 2009-10; Estimated $225 in additional revenue 2010-11. To help offset $116.7 from property tax shortfall savings)
- Support the Governor’s recommendation to reduce categorical programs by 55%. We recommend that community colleges have the flexibility to spend the remaining 45% in a manner determined locally. ($333 million in savings)
- Support the Governor’s recommendation to provide greater flexibility to Community Colleges by relaxing the 50% law. We recommend implementing this relaxation through 2012, with an optional extension for an additional three years if the increased flexibility has yielded positive results.
- Support the designation of the Board of Governors to implement a common statewide assessment at all community colleges, in order to maximize student success and ensure the adequate assessment, placement and interventions for students as they begin college.
- Support fee increases to $30 a unit for the 2009-10 school year and $40 a unit for the 2010-11 school year, as long as the Board of Governors fee waiver program for low income students remain in place. We also recommend that
California State University and University of California:
California State University and University of California serve over 600,000 undergraduates in our state and provide an affordable and world renowned pathway for a undergraduate and graduate education. The Governor and the LAO have recommended approximately $267.5 in additional cuts for the UC and $267.5 million in additional cuts for the CSU. Our recommendation is focused on ensuring that we minimize the impact of these cuts to student access to these institutions.
- Support the flexibility for the CSU and UC systems in the allocation of budget reductions, with the provision that at least 50% of the cuts come from increased faculty course load, increased class size, and reductions in state sponsored research funding, in order to minimize further impact to student access. (Exact savings unknown; LAO estimates a savings of $535 million)
- Oppose all cuts to CSU and UC outreach and academic preparation programs, but support a comprehensive evaluation of these programs.
Faced with these difficult choices, it is our strong belief that these recommendations help prioritize our spending and give emphasis to the core values of serving students and preparing our future workforce. Should these reductions be adopted, they would provide some important relief towards closing the budget gap while minimizing the impact to students.
|
2) |
|
Help Us Pass AB 440: The College Student Success Act
CCO is sponsoring AB 440, sign a letter of support to ensure success for community college students across California.
back to top>> |
The College Student Success Act of 2009- AB 440 will ensure that community college students who fulfill general education transfer requirements to a four-year university and a minimum of 60 semester units, receive an Associate of Arts Degree in Transfer Studies in recognition of their achievement. It provides community colleges with the flexibility to offer an Associate Degree in Transfer Studies as a clear signal of a student's achievement and will provide students with improved opportunities in the workplace.
In 1960, California leaders made the historic commitment through the Master Plan for Higher Education to provide a place in college for every eligible person who seeks the opportunity.Successful progression from lower-division coursework to degree completion is a basic tenet of the Master Plan and the transfer function plays a crucial role for the community college system, California's higher education system and the future economy. Today, 1 in 4 jobs require an Associate Degree of higher. In the near future, 1 in 3 jobs will have that requirement. Increasing the number of students awarded an Associate Degree will have long-term benefits for California's economy.
Currently students are not awarded with an Associate Degree at the end of their transfer path. As a result, many transfer students leave the community college system with nothing to show for their work and should they experience interruptions on their path to obtain a Bachelor's degree, they may find themselves far less marketable in a competitive California economy. Moreover, it is often low-income students, students of color, and women who face the most obstacles on their path to obtain a degree. These students deserve a benchmark of their hard-earned success.
AB 440 will be heard in the Senate Higher Education Committee on July 1st. Please join us at the Capitol if you would like to testify in support of this bill. If you or your organization would like to sign a letter of support for AB 440, please contact Maria Luisa Figueroa at marialuisa@collegecampaign or visit our website at http://www.collegecampaign.org/. Letters must be received by June 23rd.
|
3) |
|
Save Me A Spot In College Scholarship Contest Update
After four very successful regional judging events, the winners have been chosen with the help of hundreds of judges across the state.
back to top>> |
The fourth year of the scholarship contest was the most successful one yet, yielding more than 14,000 entries from all across the state. Over 939 teachers, counselors, youth organizers and others participated by engaging their students in conversations about college planning and signing on as partners in publicizing the contest.
More than 300 judges conducted three rounds of judging, including four separate judging parties held in Los Angeles, Redding, Sacramento, and San Francisco. This year, $150,000 was awarded to 260 students, all of whom are listed on the Save Me a Spot in College website. To see this year's winners, please follow this link: SPOT 2009 Winners
|
"Education Promotes a Better
Society" by Joshua Kim. 12th
Grade Student at West High
School in Torrance.
|
A special thank you to the College Access Foundation whose grant makes this work possible. We would also like to thank the following organizations for providing amazing volunteer support:
Wells Fargo, United Way Los Angeles, PG & E, Los Angeles Neighborhood Initiative (LANI), Joint Education Project at USC, The Great Valley Center, College Access Foundation, The McConnell Foundation, College Options, The Greenlining Institute
We would also like to thank The Southern California College Access Network, ACLU Northern California, and The Redding Public Library for donating space and helping to make out judging day a success.
|
4)
|
|
California Needs One Million Additional College Graduates by 2025 to Meet Workforce Demand
The Public Policy Institute of California has just released, "Closing the Gap: Meeting California's Need for College Graduates" which examines outcomes and solutions for the next generation of college students.
back to top>> |
On Thursday, April 30 the Campaign for College Opportunity held a conference call to discuss the findings in the newly released Closing the Gap: Meeting California’s Need for College Graduates. The call attracted nearly 100 participants and co-author Hans Johnson reported on the findings. The report found that California will face a shortage of nearly one million college graduates by the year 2025. Conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California, this study also examined scenarios that could increase the number of college graduates by more than 500,000, narrowing the education skills gap by half.
As the state’s economy becomes increasingly reliant on highly skilled workers, a confluence of trends—the retirement of baby boomers, and demographic shifts toward groups with historically low rates of college attendance—makes these investments all the more crucial to the state’s continued economic success. For more information about the report or to learn more, please click on the links below.
Full Report - Closing the Gap: Meeting California's Need for College Graduates
Powerpoint Presentation by Hans Johnson - Closing the Gap Powerpoint
Press Release - Closing the Gap Press Release
LA Times Editorial Pages Editor, Jim Newton
discusses the education gap with CCO Executive
Director Michele Siqueiros and Hans Johnson,
Associate Director of the Public Policy Institute
of California. |
On June 3rd, Zocalo hosted a community conversation on "How to Close the Education Gap". The discussion was moderated by LA Times Editorial Pages Editor, Jim Newton and included Campaign for College Opportunity Executive Director Michele Siqueiros, The UCLA Civil Rights Project/Proyecto Derechos Civiles Co-Director Professor Gary Orfield, and PPIC Associate Director Hans Johnson on the history and future of higher learning in California.
Please follow the link to watch the conversation at Zocalo Public Square
|
5)
|
|
New Report From USC School of Planning, Policy and Development finds a new "Homegrown Majority" in California
For the first time in history, native Californian's have become the majority and are changing the face of the state's future.
back to top>> |
A new report by USC reveals that there is a new “homegrown majority” in California for the first time in history. On April 27, The Population Dynamics Research Group at the USC School of Policy, Planning and Development released The New Homegrown Majority in California: Recognizing the New Reality of Growing Commitment to the Golden State.
Dowell Myers, one of the study’s authors states, "People have felt it's a state full of newcomers, every man for himself, we don't need to invest in the next generation because they're different. We're waking up to the fact that we're a self-reliant state whose future depends on who is here already." This represents a great opportunity for California to educate the next generation successfully and prepare them for our competitive economy and industry. To read this study in detail please click this link: The New Homegrown Majority in California: Recognizing the New Reality of Growing Commitment to the Golden State.
To read the media coverage surrounding this illuminating study, please follow the links below:
The New York Times
The San Francisco Chronicle
|
6)
|
|
Associate Director Jessie Ryan Featured in The Women's Foundation of California Newsletter
A recent graduate of the Women's Policy Institute, Jessie Ryan is highlighted for her commitment to higher education reform.
back to top>> |
Jessie Ryan grew up in the Central Valley and was raised by a struggling single mother. While life was often challenging, Jessie’s mother taught her that being economically disadvantaged did not mean a lifetime of disadvantage. She instilled in her daughter the belief that through education and civic participation individuals could vastly improve their quality of life. It was her mother’s strong sense of civic service and empathy for others that inspired Jessie to seek a college education, something her mother had always dreamed of doing, and devote much of her professional life to making it possible for others to follow their same college dream.
Jessie is currently the Associate Director at the Campaign for College Opportunity, where she leads the organization’s advocacy and policy efforts to increase the number of students accessing higher education and impact the rate that students succeed in reaching their educational goals.
*This story has been truncated. To read the rest of this article at the original source, please click here: The Womens Foundation of California
|
Jessie Ryan has recently graduated from the Women's
Policy Institute. She resides in Sacramento, CA.
|
###
|
From L to R: Judges from the Bay Area debate written word finalists, a judge in Los Angeles has a tough time deciding on a
poster winner, judges in Sacramento read their entries amongst the poster entries. | |
