California Faltering in Higher Ed Rankings
By Mark Seelig
KCBS radio Bay Area | February 15, 2009
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SACRAMENTO (KCBS) -- New data, tabulated by the Sacramento State Institute for Higher Education Leadership and Policy, shows that the state is third in the nation in terms of percentage of people 65 and older who have an associate degree or higher. But according to Policy Director Nancy Shulock, the ranking drops to 29th when it involves people 25-34.
 KCBS' Mark Seelig reports
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"We're facing some very serious challenges," said Shulock, "and it has a lot to do with not getting our younger generations educated at the same rate as the older generation."
Pat Callan with the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education saw economic growth as problematic, "as the baby boomers move toward retirement, to not only provide opportunities," warned Callan, "but also whether we will have a work force that is competitive as the competition for good jobs is both national and international."
The data also shows that California ranks 40th in the nation in the rate of high school students going directly to college.
But Anthony Portantino, the chair of the state's Assembly Committee on Higher Education, pointed out that getting kids to embrace college is easier said than done. "I think the cuts that are coming down the road as part of this $40 billion budget crisis are again going to reflect that we talk about making public education a priority but I think it's going to get hit."
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