May 15, 2013 | Written by: Michele Siqueiros, Executive Director, Campaign for College Opportunity

After years of devastating cuts to higher education that have hurt students and our colleges and universities, the Governor’s May Revision proposals for increasing funding for higher education is a welcome relief. We are thankful to Governor Brown and the people of California who voted in favor of Proposition 30 to bring some stability to our systems.

We especially applaud the Governor’s budget investment in student support services for community college students in recognition that greater orientation, advising, educational planning and assessments are a key component of improving student completion rates in a system where too many students never attain a certificate, degree or transfer.

We also strongly agree with the Governor that higher education should be affordable and that student success can be improved. Indeed the Governor understands that too many community college students are not leveraging the full amount of student aid that they are qualified for because they are not required to complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). We support the Governor’s current proposal to allow for sufficient preparation to enact the policy requiring FAFSA completion by the 2014-15 academic year.

Following the release of our report, “Working Hard, Left Behind,” which finds that 1 in 3 working families in the state are low income, we welcome the increased funding and thoughtful planning grants for improving regional coordination for adult education. This is long overdue. Our hope is that many more working adults will have the opportunity to get the skills and education they need through adult education and an increased number of them will transition to community colleges to help close the 2.3 million skills gap expected in our state by 2025.

Read more about the 2013-14 Budget proposal in the Campaign’s higher education budget webpage. You can also visit the California Department of Finance website to view the official budget documents.

About the Author:

Michele Siqueiros is the Executive Director of the Campaign for College Opportunity.

To read her complete bio, click here. Follow her on Twitter @MSCollegeOpp