Policy Brief Policy Brief: California’s Higher Education Funding Landscape By Kevin Cook, Jacob Jackson, Iwunze Ugo, Chansonette Buck May 15, 2024 As California looks to establish a more stable post-pandemic funding model for postsecondary institutions, significant challenges lie ahead. Multiple factors could contribute to reduced state revenues and greater reliance on tuition especially for four-year colleges, making costs higher for students.
Statewide Survey PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and Education By Mark Baldassare, Dean Bonner, Rachel Lawler, Deja Thomas Apr 27, 2022 More than four in ten parents say their children have fallen behind academically during the pandemic. While most Californians approve of the way Governor Newsom is handling public K–12 education, many believe its quality has declined over the past few years.
Report Higher Education in California: New Goals for the Master Plan By Hans Johnson Apr 23, 2010 California’s Master Plan for Higher Education defined a strategy to meet the state’s needs in 1960—but today, California faces new challenges. By 2025, the state will have one million fewer college-educated workers than the economy will require, according to PPIC projections. Updating the Master Plan is crucial to closing this skills gap. This report proposes that the plan set explicit new goals in several key areas, including UC and CSU eligibility levels, community college transfers to four-year institutions, and college completion rates. Supported with funding from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation as part of the California 2025 project on the state's future challenges and opportunities.
Report Student Debt and the Value of a College Degree By Hans Johnson, Marisol Cuellar Mejia, David Ezekiel, Betsey Zeiger Jun 3, 2013 Student debt in California has increased dramatically in recent years, but college is still a good investment. Californians with college degrees are more likely to be employed than those with high school diplomas, and they earn higher wages. Policymakers can do a lot to help make higher education more affordable—for example, by developing tuition savings programs and improving pathways from community colleges to four-year schools. Providing additional funding is essential, but finding ways keep costs down should also be pursued. This research was supported with funding from the Donald Bren Foundation.
Report Closing the Gap: Meeting California’s Need for College Graduates By Hans Johnson, Ria Sengupta Bhatt Apr 16, 2009 California faces a shortage of almost a million college-educated workers by 2025. Taking a practical approach, this report finds that this education-skills gap could be cut in half by modest investments in programs aimed at expanding college attendance rates, increasing transfer rates from community colleges to four-year institutions, and boosting graduation rates at four-year institutions. 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.
Report Higher Education in California: Institutional Costs By Hans Johnson, Patrick Murphy, Margaret Weston, Kevin Cook Nov 12, 2014 Over the past 20 years, in-state tuition at both the University of California (UC) and the California State University (CSU) has more than tripled. These tuition increases have led many to believe that spending in the state’s public higher education systems is out of control. However, a closer look reveals that institutional expenditures in the two systems—including faculty salaries and benefits, the largest budget category—have not increased significantly. Our evaluation of both revenues and expenditures shows that recent tuition increases have been driven by dramatic reductions in state subsidies to UC and CSU. In the past, General Fund contributions covered the majority of educational costs. Today, students (often with help from federal, state, institutional, and private grants) pay most of these costs through tuition and associated fees. Better budget data could help policymakers monitor costs and align higher education funding with state goals. But it is clear that tuition at California’s public universities has risen much more rapidly than the cost of providing higher education.
Statewide Survey PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and Their Government By Mark Baldassare, Dean Bonner, Alyssa Dykman, Lunna Lopes Dec 12, 2018 Key findings from the current survey: Four in ten Californians approve of Governor-Elect Newsom’s plans and priorities; half say they want him to take a different policy direction from Governor Brown. Majorities see new state spending on universal health coverage and free community college as high priorities; fewer prioritize high-speed rail. Californians view jobs and the economy as the most important priority for the state’s future; many believe that children will be worse off than their parents.
Report Expanding Enrollment Capacity at California State University By Kevin Cook, Radhika Mehlotra Aug 26, 2020 Financial constraints threaten CSU’s ability to meet the growing demand for higher education. As the governor and state policymakers contend with limited resources, prioritizing enrollment growth and capital planning at CSU will be vital to the state’s economic future.
Fact Sheet Student Loan Debt in California By Jacob Jackson, Darriya Starr Jun 16, 2023 Student borrowing in California has declined markedly over the past decade. Borrowing rates vary across the state’s public and private institutions; undergraduates at public universities are least likely to borrow, while students who attend for-profit schools are more likely to struggle to pay off loans.
Report Educating California: Choices for the Future By Hans Johnson Jun 2, 2009 The bad news is that California is facing a "skills gap” - a shortage of college graduates - that threatens its economic future. But the good news is that modest improvements in college enrollment, community college transfers, and the college completion rate, particularly in the California State University system, could help to narrow that gap substantially. These improvements will not only help California’s young adults succeed in an increasingly high-skill economy but will also benefit the state by increasing tax revenues and allowing for greater economic growth.
