College Opportunity News

Volume 4, Issue 9, August 7, 2009

In this issue:

President Obama has set a national goal of leading the world in the percentage of college graduates in our workforce by 2020. As one of his proposed methods for meeting this goal, the president included $2.5 billion in his budget over five years earmarked for the College Access and Completion Innovation Fund. This fund would establish a state/federal partnership to improve college completion, particularly among students from disadvantaged backgrounds. 

We celebrate the increased attention on the need for substantially increasing the educational attainment of our citizens at this critical time.  A report entitled, “Utilizing College Completion Program Funds,” written by Dennis Jones and Peter Ewell of the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS) with support from the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation, describes how best to utilize those program completion funds and what specific application might be necessary for the state of California.

To ensure that we meet the national goal defined by the President, it is reasonable to assume that each state must do its fair share to help close the education attainment gap.  As you will see on page two of the report, California’s contribution towards closing this gap is the largest in the nation.  In addition, a recent report by the Public Policy Institute of California noted that if current trends persist California will have one million fewer  college graduates than it needs by 2025. 

It is clear that in order to increase the number of Californians that attain a postsecondary education, our state will need to set clear goals for increasing college going and student success while requiring improved outcomes from our higher education systems.  In particular, this paper highlights the importance of establishing a clear statewide entity that can oversee the focus of such federal dollars by setting statewide goals, defining accountability measures, and reviewing progress on outcomes in California.

Over the course of the next few months, we plan to host a series of briefings with statewide policymakers and community partners throughout California to discuss the importance of articulating statewide goals for higher education that ensure better outcomes for students.  If you are interested in joining us for any of these briefings, please contact Jessie Ryan at the Campaign for College Opportunity at (916) 449-3988. 

We look forward to working with you to make sure that California prepares the workforce needed for the 21st Century and is an active participant in achieving the President’s goal for our nation’s workforce to become the most educated in the world.

•  Read the NCHEMS Report

After clearing the Assembly with overwhelming support [66-8], in a disappointing turn of events, AB 440, the Community College Associate Degree and Recognition of Student Transfer Preparation Act, was held as a two-year bill by the Senate Education Committee.

AB 440, which would allow individual community colleges to grant an Associate Degree in a field of study for transfer to eligible students who successfully complete the minimum transfer requirements to a campus of the California State University or University of California systems and coursework in a major or area of emphasis, was introduced at a critical time as enrollment cuts threaten to leave tens of thousands of transfer students in limbo, many without a degree to show for their efforts.

The very students who could benefit from AB 440 traveled up
to Sacramento a week before its hearing date to state their opionons to members of the Senate Education Committee. The group, comprised of high school seniors and first-year college students, walked the halls of the Capitol to make their voices heard in support of a bill they believe will offer community college students a clearer path to transfer with an associate degree.

"An AA degree would really help," Johniqua Smith, 18, of San Francisco, said of her future plans.

Smith said she will attend community college in the fall and hopes to eventually transfer to a four-year university. 

Many of the students said the day of legislative visits have changed their view of politics and the highlight of the day was spending time with Assemblymember Jim Beall (D-24), author of AB 440.  Beall said he decided to author the piece of legislation because of his own college experiences.

"I remember what happened to me when I was going to school and how hard it was," Beall said.

The bill enjoys bipartisan support in the Assembly and broad-based support among business and education groups across the state, including the California Chamber of Commerce, California Business Roundtable, California Community College Chancellor’s Office, California State University, and Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities. [Click here for a full list of supporters]

The Campaign would like to thank the more than 25 organizations who wrote letters of support, and dozens of coalition partners who made phone calls on behalf of the bill as well as those who traveled to the State Capitol to advocate on behalf of the bill. We will continue to work on this issue on behalf of community college students across the state who deserve a benchmark of their success.

We especially thank AB 440's principal author Assemblymember Jim Beall (D-24) and its principal co-author Senator Alex Padilla (D-20) and members of the Senate Education Committee, senators Loni Hancock (D-9), Mark Wyland (R-38) and Joe Simitian (D-11), for supporting the bill.

The Campaign for College Opportunity welcomes three new members to its staff, each of whom bring a valuable set of skills.

Audrey Diaz serves as the organization's Community Affairs Director. 

Diaz is responsible for leading the Campaign's community engagement strategy  and building a statewide coalition.  

Before joining the Campaign, Diaz served as Programs and Policy Director for Hispanas Organized for Political Equality (HOPE), a statewide nonpartisan, nonprofit organization committed to advancing the status of Latinas through education, advocacy, and leadership training.  Prior to that position, Diaz served as Special Assistant to the Secretary for the California Business, Transportation, and Housing Agency during Governor Gray Davis’ tenure. During her time with the state, she managed a myriad of projects to improve the state’s aging infrastructure systems. 

Diaz is a graduate of the University of Southern California, where she received a bachelor of science degree in Public Policy and Management.  She received her master’s in Public Affairs with an emphasis in Domestic Policy, and a certificate in Urban Policy, from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.  She is a former fellow of the Women’s Policy Institute, a program of the Women’s Foundation of California designed to increase the number of women leaders in California who are actively involved in shaping and implementing policies that affect the health and well-being of women and girls.

Also joining the Campaign is Marty Trujillo as Communications Director.

Trujillo will play a key role in developing and executing a dynamic communications strategy for the organization.  He has over two decades worth of experience in corporate and nonprofit communications, and for the past two years, he ran his own communication consulting company. Prior to that, he worked for 20 years for St. Joseph Health System, the healthcare ministry of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange, most recently as the Director of Corporate Communications. 

The California native attended public schools throughout Orange County.  Trujillo attended Golden West Community College in Huntington Beach before transferring and graduating from the University of Southern California with a degree in journalism. He is very active in his community, serving on three nonprofit boards and as a volunteer with various locally based organizations.  

Christine Jerian is the organization's new Senior Outreach Associate will lead coalition building and outreach efforts in the greater Southern California region.

Before joining the Campaign, Jerian served as the California Public Policy Officer for the Women’s Sports Foundation, working with school administrators across the state on Title IX Compliance and Gender Equity in High School Athletics. Prior to that position, she worked as Member Relations Officer with the Southern California Association of Governments, the Metropolitan Planning Agency for Southern California. 

Jerian also served the City of Los Angeles in various capacities, including Field Deputy for the Office of Councilmember Wendy Greuel; Project Coordinator for the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment, and as Youth Council Coordinator for the Commission on Children Youth and their Families.

Jerian holds an associate degree in social sciences from Shoreline Community College in Washington state, a bachelor's of arts degree in Urban Studies and Planning from California State University, Northridge (CSUN) and an executive masters of leadership degree from the University of Southern California (USC). In her spare time she enjoys reading, exploring
Southern California with her husband, and volunteering for various nonprofits and community based organizations, and is also producing her first short film.

The Campaign is also pleased to announce that Elizabeth Robles has graduated from her Public Allies fellowship and will stay on as a permanent member of the CCO staff.  Robles will be in charge of managing the last year of the Save Me a Spot in College scholarship contest.

 All are based in the Campaign's Los Angeles office.

We are grateful for the continuous support of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation who recently awarded the Campaign with a grant of $925,000 over two years for our work to promote reform and student success in California community colleges.