Search

Among its planning and coordinating responsibilities, the California Postsecondary Education Commission is required by state law to assess the ongoing effectiveness of postsecondary education in meeting societal, educational, and workforce needs. At its September 28-29 meeting, the Commission supported staff's proposed work plan to transition from enrollment demand analyses to a broader range of policy issues pertaining to student success and state workforce needs. Student success is the research topic being addressed first. Staff formed an advisory committee and held two meetings in November. This paper outlines a more refined and focused student success work plan, based in part on the suggestions and recommendations provided by advisory committee members.

This report provides a staff review of a proposal by the Solano Community College District to convert its existing facility in Vallejo to a state-approved off-campus educational center of Solano Community College. Educational centers can be a cost-effective means for meeting educational needs of a region through agreements with local high schools, businesses, and nearby university campuses. Centers support learning productivity because students spend more time engaged near their homes and less time commuting to a main campus. Because the Commission concurred with the decision of the California Community Colleges Board of Governors and the CPEC (California Postsecondary Education Commission) staff recommendation based on ten facilities review criteria, the Vallejo Center will become eligible to compete for state capital outlay funding and to receive base apportionment funding.

Although public universities account for most of the higher education enrollment in California, independent colleges and universities make an important contribution to meeting enrollment demand. California's 76 independent non-profit colleges and universities provide a wide range of degree and certificate programs. In fall 2008, the independents served approximately 241,000 undergraduate and graduate students, a number that could not be absorbed by public campuses, given the existing and projected demand. The purpose of "Ready for Learning" is to: (1) Update policymakers and the general public on the range of independent institutions serving California and the importance of incorporating the independents as an integral part of state higher education long-range planning; (2) Provide a benchmark estimate of undergraduate demand for the independents by student ethnicity and institution type; (3) Highlight key demographic and economic factors that influence demand for the independents; and (4) Identify additional data elements that would enable CPEC (California Postsecondary Education Commission) to derive undergraduate demand projections for the independents that are more refined and useful for higher education planning. Undergraduate demand estimates were derived from two forecast models: a demographic model that relies principally on observed and projected changes in college-going rates and the population aged 18 to 49 by ethnicity; and an economic model that considers projected changes in personal income, annual unemployment, and Cal Grant funding levels as a function of student demand. Both models estimate undergraduate demand for the independents to increase by about 16%, from about 130,000 students in fall 2008 to approximately 150,000 in 2019. The similarity in findings is evidence of construct validity in modeling enrollment demand. The findings are also consistent with projections developed in 2009 by the National Center for Education Statistics that show undergraduate enrollments at private institutions increasing by 13% nationwide. CPEC analysts recognize that estimating demand for the independents is more complex than for public colleges and universities. The independents, unlike public institutions, are not a system with a common purpose, mission, and legislated obligations and mandates. The objective of "Ready for Learning" is not to project precisely how many students will be enrolled at any particular independent institution in a particular year, but to derive a reasonable and valid trend in undergraduate demand to support long-range planning. Following formal Commission adoption of this report, staff expects to convene an advisory committee consisting of representatives of public and independent institutions to identify policy recommendations that address the increased enrollment demand shown by these projections and CPEC's projections for the public systems. Appendices include: (1) AICCU's [Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities'] Comments on the Projections; (2) Methodology; and (3) Participation Rates, by Classification and Ethnicity, 2000-2008. (Contains 8 displays.)

This annual report provides a summary of program planning and review activities conducted by California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) during the 2008-09 academic year. During this period, CPEC staff conducted an extensive review of a proposal to establish a medical school at UC Riverside and a nursing school at UC Davis, and conducted independent reviews of 13 additional program proposals. Staff assessed the long-range plans of the public higher education systems, and updated and modified program review agreements between CPEC and the systems to enhance the review process. Appendices include: (1) CPEC Program Review Guidelines; (2) CSU Long-Range Program Plans; (3) UC Long-Range Program Plans, 2009-2014; (4) New Community College Programs; and (5) Commission Assignment of Degree Programs to Discipline Area.

The California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) conducts policy research and analysis to support long-range planning and student success. The community college enrollment projection is the first in the "Ready or Not, Here They Come" series that will be developed over the next six months. Community college projections were derived first because the system is the largest in the state, and it accounts for about 75% of undergraduate demand in any given year. The complete series will update CPEC's statewide enrollment demand and institutional capacity reports published in 1995 and 2000. It is intended to support higher education long-range planning and assist the Governor and the Legislature during budgetary and policy deliberations. It will provide informed and valid projections of the demand for public undergraduate higher education over the next ten years and estimates of classroom lecture and laboratory capacity needed to maximize student success. Appendices include: (1) Mid-Range Enrollment Demand Forecast, Community College Participation per 1,000 Persons; and (2) Enrollment Demand Method. (Contains 3 figures.)

State law directs the California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) to review and comment on the need for new degree and certificate programs proposed by the public higher education systems. The California Legislature, the Administration, and the Legislative Analyst's Office consider the review of proposals for new degree and certificate programs to be among CPEC's most important responsibilities. This annual report provides a summary of program planning and review activities conducted by CPEC during the 2009-10 academic year. During this period, CPEC staff conducted an extensive review of a proposal to establish a nursing school at UC Davis, conducted independent reviews of 21 additional program proposals, assessed the long-range plans of the public higher education systems, and updated and modified program review agreements between CPEC and the systems to enhance the review process. Four indices are included: (1) CPEC's Program Review Guidelines; (2) California State University's Long-Range Program Plans; (3) University of California's (UC's) Long-Range Program Plans; and (4) New Community College Programs.

An important goal for California is that public high schools continue to make progress in closing the achievement gap between demographic groups and that students are prepared for postsecondary education. In early 2008 Commission staff started developing a composite measure of academic preparation based on standardized test scores in nine college preparatory subjects. Proficiency in these subjects is directly linked to the knowledge and skills that students need to acquire to be successful at the university level. Staff decided that a measure comprising multiple dimensions of preparation would be more useful in assessing school progress and success than would an assessment strategy relying on a single subject area. Preliminary results indicate that the Commission's measure correlates slightly better with one-year- and two-year persistence than does the school's Academic Performance Index (API). The Commission's measure has the advantage that it is based on data that is broken down by gender and ethnicity, so it can be used to assess how opportunities to prepare for postsecondary education vary by ethnicity and gender.

In the absence of continuous legislative and institutional intervention, the demand for services provided by vocational and registered nurses in California over the next ten years will greatly outpace the supply of nurses anticipated to flow from postsecondary degree programs. Nursing education and supply issues can be better understood and addressed within the context of statewide program planning. This paper describes a study project that aims to produce a comprehensive statewide plan for nursing education that addresses the complex issues pertaining to the nursing supply. The initial planning phases of the project consist of: (1) modeling nursing supply and demand; (2) assessing the general and unique contributions and benefits of the four systems of higher education on nursing education; and (3) determining the cost-effectiveness of recent nursing legislation and initiatives. Appended are: (1) Public and Private Institutions Offering Prelicensure Nursing Programs; and (2) Commission Recommendations from 2003.

Legislation passed in 2006 established a new system for allocating state revenues to community college districts. The legislation required the California Community Colleges Board of Governors to develop criteria and standards in accordance with Title 5 State regulations. The standards pertain to instruction, teaching, student support services, and physical capacity. In May 2008, the Board of Governors adopted regulations to implement the new funding system. One provision calls for districts to receive General Fund apportionments based in part on the number of its state-approved educational centers. At the Commission's December 2008 meeting, staff presented recommendations for modifying criteria for approval of educational centers to be consistent with the Board of Governors' revised Title 5 regulations. The recommendations pertain to the minimum enrollment threshold, provisional approval, conversion of a grandfathered center to a state-approved center for apportionment funding purposes, and exceptions to the guidelines.