Report COVID-19 Emergency Funding and California’s Higher Education Systems By Jacob Jackson, Kevin Cook, Darriya Starr Nov 16, 2022 Federal dollars offered timely, substantial support to the state’s higher education systems during the worst of the pandemic. Funding for students, online instruction, and social distancing measures made up key spending allocations.
blog post Testimony: Enrollment Declines in California Community Colleges By Olga Rodriguez Nov 14, 2022 For a hearing of Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 2 on Education Finance, PPIC’s Olga Rodriguez presented research on pandemic-induced enrollment declines at community colleges—with the largest decreases among Asian, Black, and Latino students—and discussed strategies for boosting student access and educational attainment.
Report Keeping College Affordable for California Students By Kevin Cook, Jacob Jackson Dec 1, 2021 California’s financial aid programs reduce tuition for most students. But the state and its higher education institutions can improve college access and success by providing additional aid to lower-income students, addressing growing non-tuition costs, and eliminating barriers that increase the time it takes to earn a degree.
blog post Applications for Dream Act Financial Aid Have Fallen By Kevin Cook, Jacob Jackson Aug 20, 2021 A sharp decline in California Dream Act applications during the COVID-19 pandemic may mean that college is less affordable for some undocumented students—or even lead to a decline in enrollment.
Fact Sheet Immigrants and Education in California By Hans Johnson, Cesar Alesi Perez, Marisol Cuellar Mejia Mar 24, 2021 Educational attainment among California’s recent immigrants has risen markedly. Immigrants now make up 31% of California workers with at least a bachelor’s degree. However, immigrants also comprise an outsized share of workers with little formal education.
blog post The DACA Ruling and California’s Dreamers By Joseph Hayes, Laura Hill Jun 19, 2020 What does this week’s US Supreme Court ruling mean for the nearly 200,000 DACA recipients in California?
page COVID-19 Mar 1, 2020 The coronavirus outbreak poses a tremendous challenge to California, the nation, and the global community. PPIC’s analyses examine the impacts of COVID-19 and how policy choices and other actions can help address them.
page Poverty & Inequality Oct 19, 2018 More than a quarter of Californians live in or near poverty, and the longstanding divide between rich and poor poses a major challenge for our state and nation. PPIC builds understanding of what economic disparities mean for households and communities, while highlighting policies that can broaden opportunity and increase well-being.
blog post California’s Dream Act By Jacob Jackson Sep 11, 2017 As the federal government moves to end the DACA program, California is continuing to support the higher education aspirations of undocumented students.
Report Higher Education in California: Student Costs By Jacob Jackson Nov 12, 2014 Increases in tuition across California’s public four-year universities have heightened concerns about the affordability of a college education, especially for those with the lowest incomes. In-state full tuition at the University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) has risen more dramatically than at other public universities in other states over the past decade. During this same period, the federal, state, and institutional grant and scholarship programs that help make college affordable for students from lower- and middle-income families expanded. This helped lower-income families keep up with rising tuition, but the full price of college beyond tuition can still be a relatively large share of their income. Given the importance of higher education to California’s economic future, policymakers at the federal, state, and institutional levels need to make a continuing commitment to keep college affordable for students from low- and middle-income families. Also, given current tuition levels, it is more important than ever for the state to ensure that all students fill out financial aid forms and can easily access tools that can help them understand the financial aid packages they are offered.
