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Volume 7, Issue 4
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August 5, 2011
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 Increasing access to and completion in college for Californians is one of the most important ways we can ensure our state's prosperity. The Public Policy Institute of California has forecasted that we will require an additional one million college graduates by 2025 to meet workforce needs. Here are some troubling statistics.
California is:
- 40th in the nation in the number of students who go directly from high school to college;
- 41st in the nation in the number of baccalaureate degrees awarded per 100 undergrads;
- 46th among states in college completion.
In order to improve California's standing, we must advocate for minimizing cuts to higher education, increase the number of students who can transfer from community college to our four-year universities, and increase the rate of college completion. To read more about our thoughts on the recent budget cuts to higher education click here.
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SB 292: TAKE ACTION TO KEEP THE MOMENTUM GOING ON HISTORIC COMMUNITY COLLEGE TRANSFER REFORM 
Please join us in supporting SB 292 by sending in your letter of support to Assembly Member Felipe Fuentes, Chair of the Assembly Appropriations Committee, by Wednesday, August 10, so that students forced to move from one community college to another do not lose their chance to stay on track! Click here to download a template letter of support.
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COMMUNITY COLLEGE TRANSFER REFORM IMPLEMENTATION UPDATE
 | | From left to right: CSU Chancellor Charlie Reed, CCC Chancellor Jack Scott, Campaign Executive Director Michele Siqueiros at the SB 1440 Implementation hearing. |
In the fall of 2010, we worked hard to secure passage of historic legislation to improve transfer from our community colleges to our four-year universities (Senate Bill 1440 D-Padilla and Assembly Bill 2302 D-Fong). The intent of the legislation was to create a clear statewide pathway that increases the number of students who transfer and earn an associate degree in California's Community Colleges. An aggressive timeline to implement by the fall of 2011 was secured and both the California Community College (CCC) and California State University (CSU) system have been focused on seeing this through. The faculty from both systems have developed Transfer Model Curriculums in various subject matters and are working diligently to meet this timeframe. In addition, strong advocacy from student leaders from the CSU and CCCs, along with counselors, articulation officers, and college leaders have advised, informed, and recommended improvements to this process.
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Senators Alex Padilla and Curren Price listen intently
to testimony at the SB 1440 implementation hearing.
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On July 20th, Senator Padilla convened a hearing of the Senate Select Committee on College and University Admissions and Outreach to hear testimony on the implementation of SB 1440 and was joined by Senator Curren Price. Over 100 attendees had an opportunity to hear testimony from CSU Chancellor Charlie Reed, CCC Chancellor Jack Scott, Campaign for College Opportunity Executive Director Michele Siqueiros, and others. In testimony before the committee, Michele Siqueiros congratulated the leadership of both systems for their commitment and progress towards implementation. She shared The Campaign's commitment to ensuring that this reform become the preferred statewide transfer pathway for the majority of students seeking to attend the CSU system and urged passage of SB 292 which will require the community college system to honor students on this pathway that may move from one community college to another before finishing their path. During the hearing The Campaign, along with various stakeholders, stressed that the development of the Transfer Model Curriculums must provide the flexibility needed for all CCCs to offer these degrees. Those entrusted with the implementation of SB 1440 were urged to find a balance in the development of the associate degree for transfer that provides adequate academic preparation and becomes the preferred pathway to the CSU.
Chancellor Jack Scott announced that the Gates Foundation, through Complete College America, awarded the CSU and CCC systems one million dollars to support the successful implementation of transfer reform and to expand communication to students. Congratulations! For more information, click here.
Finally, for those that were not able to participate in our conference call to update our coalition on the implementation of SB 1440 on July 1, the audio is now available on our website.
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LATINO COLLEGE COMPLETION: CALIFORNIA
California cannot have a globally competitive workforce for the future without a clear plan for increasing Latino college completion. Almost half of the K-12 student population is Latino, and while 39 percent of the adult working-age population has an associate degree or higher - only 16 percent of Latinos do. The Public Policy Institute of California has noted that by 2025 we will need an additional one million baccalaureate degrees to meet workforce demands. We are not on target to meet this demand without significant attention to increasing the college completion of Latinos in our state.
On August 9, The Campaign for College Opportunity is pleased to be joining Excelencia in Education as a partner in the release of Latino College Completion: California, the next piece of their nation-wide Ensuring America's Future by Increasing Latino College Completion initiative. This initiative is an effort that demonstrates the vital role that Latinos will play in meeting state and national degree-attainment goals. The California release will be a part of the annual Higher Education Policy Conference in San Francisco.
Be sure to check the website on August 9 to download Latino College Completion: California.
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 In recent weeks, two positive steps have been taken to provide college opportunity for some of our students with the greatest need.
Pell Grants
With the passage of the Budget Control Act of 2011 this week, funding for Pell Grants was increased, ensuring that millions of students dependent on these grants to pay for college will still receive this money. In spite of efforts to make eligibility requirements for Pell Grants more restrictive and to lower the maximum award amount, neither of these were a part of the final deal. Unfortunately, coupled with the boost in funding for Pell Grants was a decrease in funding for federally subsidized loans to graduate and professional students.
Furthermore, while this increase funding is a victory in the short-term, it represents a long-term lagging investment in financial aid for students at the federal level. In the 1980s, Pell Grant awards covered more than half the cost of attending a four-year university. Today, even with recent increases in the award amounts, Pell Grants cover less than one-third the cost.
For a more detailed explanation of the provisions for Pell Grants in this week's debt deal, please read this statement from The Institute for College Access & Success. To learn more about Pell Grants, check out the following resources: Thank you to everyone that answered the recent call to contact your representatives and urge them to preserve funding for Pell Grants; you made a difference!
The California DREAM Act of 2011
Closer to home, on July 25 Governor Jerry Brown signed one-half of the California DREAM Act of 2011. AB 130 (Cedillo) opens up eligibility to privately-funded scholarships for students that qualify for in-state tuition in our public colleges and universities, meaning that undocumented students will have access to privately-funded scholarships while in college. This victory builds on AB 540, passed in 2001, which expanded eligibility for paying in-state tuition to undocumented students that had attended and graduated from a California high school.
The second half of the California DREAM Act of 2011-AB 131-is currently in the Senate Appropriations Committee suspense file and the Governor has not yet indicated if he would sign it if it comes across his desk. AB 131 would open access to public scholarships and state financial aid to undocumented students eligible for in-state tuition according to AB 540. We urge the Senate to Pass AB 131 and Governor Brown to sign it into law.
A strong commitment to higher education through investment and access at both the state and federal levels will benefit us all. |
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From February through July, The Campaign for College Opportunity released 13 regional profiles, breaking down data from the statewide Divided We Fail: Improving Completion and Closing Racial Gaps in California's Community Colleges study. Each profile details milestone attainment and completion rates by race/ethnicity, compares the racial/ethnic makeup of those seeking degrees and those completing them, takes a look at transfer, and demonstrates the importance of enrollment patterns to student success. You can download the statewide study and all 13 regional profiles on our website or below.
The regions include:
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On Saturday, August 27, CSU Dominguez Hills will be hosting Super Saturday College Fair to provide information about the CSU's 23 campuses. This event is perfect for middle and high school students, parents, and families. Campus representatives will be on site with information about admissions, the application process, courses, majors, campus life, housing, financial aid, and more. There will also be an opportunity to meet students, alumni, faculty and staff. For more information and to RSVP, click here. |
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Consequences of Neglect, by the Institute for Higher Education Leadership & Policy (IHELP) at CSU Sacramento uses national data to take an in-depth look at California higher education performance in relation to other states and by region and by race/ethnicity. This report is the fourth in a series of reports previously titled The Grades are In, which followed the publication of the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education's bi-annual Measuring Up reports that graded the 50 states on their higher education performance. Read the full report here.
The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education has released a policy alert that urges states to streamline transfers and help students pay for college. You can read Affordability and Transfer: Critical to Increasing Baccalaureate Degree Completions here.
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NEWS & NOTES FROM THE CAMPAIGN 
- The Campaign is extraordinarily grateful that we have been awarded a new grant from the California Education Policy Fund. The Fund, created with a leadership gift from the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation and managed by Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, has awarded the Campaign a $330,000 three-year grant for our work to improve college completion in California.
- We are also thankful to the Evelyn & Walter Haas, Jr. Fund for their recent $42,500 leadership capacity grant.
- NEW ON OUR BLOG: Our most recent blog entries cover key topics in higher education, including the impact of assessment practices at community colleges on students from WestEd's study called One Shot Deal; a new partnership developed to help students become better prepared to succeed in college-level math between Pasadena City College and Pasadena Unified School District; and a thoughtful piece from a professor of 50 years at Los Angeles City College, Sam Eisenstein, on what higher education has meant to him.
- Want to know how we got started? Read about our founding and why we care about increasing the number of Californians who go to college and walk across that graduation stage here.
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