Statement on CA Legislative Analyst’s Office Analysis of 2015-16 Budget for Higher Education

Today, the California Legislative Analyst’s Office released an analysis of the Governor’s 2015-16 proposed higher education budget and it raises significant concerns with its recommendation to not fund enrollment growth for the University of California (UC) and the California State University (CSU).

California parents and taxpayers understand better than anyone the importance of a college education for their children and yet feel that a quality public university experience may be out of reach. Last year, the UC placed 11,183 UC eligible students who were denied admission to campuses to which they applied in a referral pool for UC Merced – only 240 enrolled. CSU has noted that tens of thousands of eligible students are also turned away from their system and that they face real challenges in being able to provide a spot to students.