Report The Impact of Budget Cuts on California’s Community Colleges By Hans Johnson, Belinda Reyes, Sarah Bohn Mar 26, 2013 Student enrollment rates in California’s community colleges have dropped to a 20-year low in the wake of unprecedented cuts in state funding. Colleges have reduced staff, cut courses, and increased class sizes—all of which have led to declines in student access. This research was supported with funding from the Donald Bren Foundation, the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, and The James Irvine Foundation.
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 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.
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 California’s Future Workforce: Will There Be Enough College Graduates? By Deborah Reed Dec 7, 2008 Over the past several decades, the demand in California for college-educated workers has grown. But the supply of college graduates has not kept pace with demand, and it appears that this “workforce skills gap” will not only continue but widen. This study examines the causes, magnitude, and likely consequences of the potential mismatch between the level of education the future population is likely to possess and the level of education demanded by the future economy. The author concludes that if current trends continue, California will experience a serious shortfall of college graduates by 2025, unable to meet its needs even through the migration of college graduates from other states.
California Counts, Report California’s Community College Students By Christopher Jepsen, Ria Sengupta Bhatt Nov 15, 2006 California's community college system is the largest postsecondary education system in the country—with more than 2.5 million mostly part-time students enrolled in more than 100 campuses. This issue of California Counts takes an in-depth look at this population. It finds an extremely diverse student body in terms of race/ethnicity, age, educational level, and academic goals in school. However, few students accomplish their goals, such as transferring to a four-year institution or earning an associate's degree. This is a major challenge for the system and the state because community colleges enroll over 70 percent of all public higher education students in California.
Report Evaluating Academic Programs in California’s Community Colleges By Andrew M. Gill, Duane E. Leigh Aug 18, 2004 In Evaluating Academic Programs in California’s Community Colleges, Andrew M. Gill and Duane E. Leigh address three related questions. How do colleges differ in their academic program offerings? Do college-specific characteristics and community needs explain these differences? If so, can these explanations help policymakers design guidelines for evaluating community college performance? They find that although most community colleges are heavily engaged in offering credits that transfer to four-year colleges, over 40 percent specialize in one way or another. They also find that program emphases and specializations are associated with factors such as local labor market conditions, proximity to four-year institutions, and membership in a multi-campus district. Given the range of missions observed across campuses, the authors maintain that a “one-size-fits-all” strategy for evaluating community colleges may not be appropriate.
Report Financing California’s Community Colleges By Patrick Murphy Jan 14, 2004 This report describes funding trends for the CCC system and assesses its ability to meet its future challenges. It finds that CCC revenue growth has fallen behind that of other systems in both California and the rest of the nation, and that CCC’s complicated allocation system is ripe for reform. The author identifies two ways to improve the system’s resource picture. The first is to fund CCC at the level the legislature guaranteed following the passage of Proposition 98 in 1988. The second is to raise community college tuition and fees, currently the lowest in the nation, while maintaining broad access to the system through the increased use of grants, tax credits, and financial aid programs.
