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Capitol series briefing will take a look at CPEC’s troubling projections on enrollment demand and capacity.

(March 19, 2010) The Campaign will hold a briefing on Thursday, March 25 with California Postsecondary Education Commission to further discuss the findings of their new report "Ready or Not, Here They Come." Stacy Wilson, Senior Policy Analyst at CPEC will present the findings on enrollment demand projections for 2009-2019 in all three public higher education segments followed by a response from a higher education panel on how the enrollment demand will impact student access and success at each of the segments.

For more information click here.

Phone briefing with CPEC explores undergraduate enrollment demand and capacity projections

(March 10, 2010) The Campaign for College Opportunity joined with the California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) for a phone briefing to discuss the results of the CPEC’s “Ready or Not, Here They Come: The Complete Series of Undergraduate Enrollment Demand and Capacity Projections, 2009–2019.” This new report updates the CPEC’s statewide enrollment demand and institutional capacity reports published in 1995, 2000, and 2004. Its findings will be used to support higher education long-range planning and assist the Governor and Legislature during budgetary and policy deliberations.

Click here for more information and to listen to the complete briefing.

Michele Siqueiros, Executive Director of the Campaign for College Opportunity, has issued the following statement regarding the “Day of Action” and California’s failed application for Race to the Top funding

(March 4, 2010) Today, as thousands of Californians took to the streets for a “Day of Action” to protest devastating cuts to public higher education, the U.S. Department of Education released disturbing news that California was not selected in Phase One of the Race to the Top competition for millions of dollars in funds for K-12. This news should sound an alarm at the State Capitol and serve as a lesson. More

The Campaign for College Opportunity has released the following statement regarding the Legislative Analyst’s Office’s report The Master Plan at 50: Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts—Coordinating Higher Education in California.

The Campaign applauds the LAO’s clear and focused look at the legacy of the Master Plan

(February 1, 2010) The new report by the state Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) should have caught the eye of every Californian, because its conclusions affect us all.

The report – released in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the creation of the state's Master Plan for Higher Education – looks at the ways the state is both fulfilling the promise of the Master Plan and the ways in which it is falling short. "California," the report states, "which set the gold standard for higher education planning in 1960, now stands alone among sizeable states in its lack of established goals, a statewide plan, and an accountability system for higher education." The most significant deficiencies, the report finds, are in the lack of a guiding agenda for higher education and in the near-absence of coordination among the three higher education sectors.

There is no better guarantee for a strong economy than an educated populace. California needs a public agenda for higher education with specific statewide goals for college participation and degree completion and a system that monitors progress and incentivizes these goals. We have long advocated this view, especially in light of California's declining position across the nation and the world with regard to the number of students who go directly from high school to college – we are 40th – and the number who complete college earning a certificate or degree – we are 46th.

One big part of the challenge for California will be in our ability to dramatically improve outcomes for the rapidly growing population of young people, including native first-generation college students, low-income individuals of all races and ethnicities, and immigrants. With continuing state budget cuts to higher education, it is now more important than ever to prioritize our funding to minimize the impacts to access, maintain affordability, and improve student success, including the transfer pathway for students from two-year colleges to four-year universities. This can only be achieved by our three public sectors of higher education (California Community Colleges, California State Universities, and the Universities of California) working together.

We hope the LAO's recommendation will be heeded in Sacramento, especially as the Joint Committee on the Master Plan for Higher Education conducts hearings on this very topic. Establishing statewide goals for higher education does not require an enormous investment of public resources, and indeed would likely make us eligible for any new federal funding opportunities for higher education through the proposed American Graduation Initiative and the College Access and Completion Fund. In California higher education, we will have no idea where we are going without a statewide plan for how to get there.

California must act quickly to begin to meet its workforce demands. Because of the aging and eventual retirement of the Baby Boom generation, the state's economy requires that we produce one million additional college graduates by the year 2025. We will be unable to reach this goal without coordination and cooperation of the three higher education sectors. We applaud the LAO's clear and focused look at the legacy of the Master Plan and its call to action for creating a more coherent and coordinated approach to higher education in our state.

The Campaign for College Opportunity has released the following statement regarding the 2010-11 state budget and higher education.

Some Higher Education Principles for the 2010 – 2011 State Budget

(January 6, 2010) Since its creation in 2003, The Campaign for College Opportunity has worked tirelessly on ensuring that the next generation of California’s students has the chance to go to college and succeed. Along with our broad-based and bipartisan coalition of supporters, we have played an active role in educating the public through the dissemination of major studies and reports, raising awareness about issues central to higher education and promoting legislation to increase access and student success.

Now more than ever, the future of California depends upon its citizens and the education they acquire. The Public Policy Institute of California notes that in order to meet the workforce needs of the future, we will need 1 million additional college graduates between now and 2025. Yet, we are moving in exactly the wrong direction, turning away thousands of eligible students from our community colleges and universities at a time when we are a woeful 40th in the nation in the number of students who go directly from high school into college.

The challenges facing our governor and legislature during these grim economic times are enormous. However, as they craft the 2010-11 budget, we strongly urge them to renew their commitment to three higher education principles:

Preserve Access. Prioritize our state spending on higher education to minimize cuts to capacity and strive to increase college-going by providing a spot in college for all eligible students.
Ensure Completion. Support the production of enough college graduates to meet our workforce needs, especially in critical sectors like health care, science, technology, engineering and math. Identify improved pathways for students to earn college certificates and Associate degrees or to transfer to a four-year university to receive a Baccalaureate degree.
Maintain Affordability. Guarantee that financial barriers do not prevent qualified persons from reaping the benefits of an affordable higher education nor cause graduates to face huge debt obligations. Cal Grants, work study opportunities, Pell grants and Community College Board of Governor waivers are all valuable programs that need to be expanded.

In order to meet the three principles we are espousing, the governor and legislature must identify and adopt new sources of revenue for California higher education. Equally essential, all higher education segments must re-commit themselves to identifying and implementing new ways of operating more efficiently and effectively. The California dream of opportunity and prosperity depends, in part, on new revenues and new ways of doing business within the California higher education system.

Anticipated federal funding provides opportunity for moving California higher education forward

(January 5, 2010) On February 24, 2009, during a joint session of Congress, President Barack Obama stated, "We will provide the support necessary for all young Americans to complete college and meet a new goal: By 2020, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world." In order to meet this goal, the President has made college affordability, increasing college-going, and college graduation a priority. Currently under review in the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, HR 3221: the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, includes an effort to modernize the federal student loan program and contains the College Access and Completion Innovation Fund and the American Graduation Initiative which, combined, represent an enormous opportunity for higher education.

The Campaign has been working with a diverse coalition to identify ways for California to access this funding to enable the state to help meet this goal. The coalition believes that these funds represent a great opportunity for California to establish a real plan for higher education that is focused on increasing college-going and improving student success. This report looks at the work of the coalition in helping to move California higher education forward.

Happy Holidays from The Campaign for College Opportunity, and thank you for your support!

Here is the holiday message from Executive Director Michele Siqueiros, which appears in the The Campaign's December newsletter.

Dear friends and partners,

On behalf of the Campaign for College Opportunity, I want to wish you a joyful holiday season and a Happy New Year.

2009 was a challenging and troubling year in higher education. The national recession coupled with the state’s deep budget crisis meant that our community colleges and universities experienced deep cuts in state appropriations. These cuts have resulted in significant fee increases for students, loss of faculty, decrease in course offerings and student support services, and the turning away of thousands of eligible students who are hoping to realize their college dreams. The paradox is that this is occurring when our state will need an additional 1 million college graduates by 2025 in order to meet the workforce needs of the future . The people of California have reaped the benefits that a skilled and educated workforce provides. We have developed a robust economy based upon creativity and innovation, and this is threatened if we do not see the urgency of action today.

In spite of these challenges, our work this year brought us into contact with countless Californians throughout the state. Wherever we went, we witnessed a resolve that people in every city and county, throughout our community colleges and universities, and amongst students and community leaders, all believe that opportunities remain ahead of us. I strongly agree, and so do the many foundations and corporate sponsors that continue to support our work.

In 2010, with the 50th Anniversary of the Master Plan for Higher Education, the possibility of new federal funding through the American Graduation Initiative and the College Access and Completion Fund, a gubernatorial election, and the important focus across the nation and in our state on student success – the opportunities to achieve significant improvements for California’s higher education system abound.

We will continue to:

Press our state leaders to set explicit goals for the number of students who must go to college and succeed in attaining some level of postsecondary success.
Inform the public, media, and candidates for state office to inform and stimulate a productive conversation on statewide policy solutions.
Mobilize and engage our broad-based coalition of supporters in the pursuit of highlighting the fundamental principles that will keep our economy strong: preserving college access, ensuring student success and completion, and maintaining affordability for low income students.

This special year-end edition of our newsletter shares with you some of the accomplishments and highlights of our work during 2009, including:

The launch of the Early Commitment to College program throughout California.
Participation of nearly 15,000 students in the fourth year of the Save Me a Spot in College scholarship contest, and the awarding of $170,000 in scholarships this year.
Joining efforts to provide a clearer transfer pathway for community college students, fighting against cuts to Cal grants for needy students and urging the prioritizing of existing funds for higher education that minimize the impact of cuts to student access and success.
Engaging business leaders across California through a series of briefings in the Silicon Valley, Sacramento, Long Beach, and San Diego exploring the findings of two reports forecasting shortages in California's future workforce.
Inaugurating a Capitol Briefing Series in Sacramento, Conversations on College Opportunity and Student Success.
Bringing together a broad-based and bipartisan coalition of stakeholders to engage our state policymakers and higher education leaders toward articulating college access and success goals.
Raising public awareness with articles in major media outlets, newsletters, periodic e-mail blasts, regular updates to our website, and daily postings to our Facebook fan page.
Strengthening our Board of Directors by selecting Long Beach City College President and Superintendent Eloy Ortiz Oakley and Thomas Saenz, General Counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), to serve.

During this time of the year -- but especially because of all of the challenges faced by higher education -- we want to thank you for supporting and engaging in our work. We look forward to working beside you and accomplishing even more in the New Year.

Sincerely,