Obtaining a college degree has long been considered the key to achieving the American Dream, yet for many it has become increasingly difficult to afford college, as funding for federal financial aid has failed to keep pace with rising tuition costs. Prior research in this area has relied heavily on quantitative data analysis, with limited access…

Over the past five years, the RP Group's "Through the Gate" transfer study has developed a deeper understanding of how California Community College (CCC) students experience transfer pathways. Specifically, the study focused on increasing transfer for "high-leverage" students: those who had completed all or most of the…

Transfer from California's community colleges to its public universities has long been central to the state's higher education system. Though most of the 2.2 million community college students intend to transfer, fewer than half do so within six years of their initial enrollment. A low transfer rate is bad news for California. The state's economy…

California is home to more than 15 million Latinos, the largest racial/ethnic group in the state. When one in two children under the age of 18 in California is Latino, one conclusion is clear: the future of the economy and the state will rise or fall on the educational success of Latinos. To secure the economic future of California, the state…

Californians can earn college degrees or certificates or get job-related training at a variety of institutions both public and private, throughout the state. The variety of institutions, programs, degrees and other educational choices is wide. This Guide will help individuals identify options that suit their needs. This guide is divided into three…

This Factsheet highlights recent changes in student fee levels and compares California's student charges to other states. In doing so, it presents responses to the following questions: (1) What does the California State University charge graduate students? (2) What does the University of California charge graduate students? (3) What has the…

The time taken for students to complete their degrees is a persistent concern. A bachelor's degree is often thought of as being a four-year program, but many students take well over four years to graduate. Slow progress toward graduation is costly to students, who often have to take out loans for tuition and living costs. In addition, prolonged…

This factsheet describes the estimated total cost of attending a public university in California. This total cost includes all required institutional charges, on-campus room and board, books and supplies, transportation, clothes, and personal expenses. For attending a campus of California State University, the total cost is estimated to be an…

As part of its Performance Accountability Framework, the Commission analyzed the affordability of public colleges and universities. This report summarizes how the real cost of a college education in California changed between 1996 and 2004 and examines the way students at California's public colleges and universities paid for their education. In…

In 1996, the State's former statutory policy relating to student fees at the State's public universities sunset. Since that time, the State has had no statutory policy in place regarding the ways in which mandatory systemwide student fees at its public universities are to be set or adjusted. Given the lack of a statutory student fee policy and the…

Californians can earn college degrees or certificates or get job-related training at a variety of institutions both public and private, throughout the state. The variety of institutions, programs, degrees and other educational choices is wide. This Guide will help individuals identify options that suit their needs. This guide is divided into three…

This paper identifies some of the major issues that need to be considered in designing a coherent policy for tuition/fees and student financial aid in California's institutions of higher education. It reviews evidence on the effects of financial aid and tuition and discusses the usefulness of that evidence for policy design. The report identifies…

The Student Fee Sunset Review Committee's recommendation to the California legislature regarding revisions to and extension of the existing student fee legislation originally enacted in 1985 is presented. The committee continues to support the fee policy as well as the proposed changes in fee legislation that it recommends. Part 1 covers…

A study was conducted by the Chancellor's Office of the California Community Colleges (CCC) to examine the consequences of existing fee policies and the likely impact of possible changes in the fee structures. The study simulated the consequences of three different fee proposals for the CCC system: an annual fee increase of $50 ($30 for those…

This study used exploratory modeling, a methodology that combines traditional quantitative forecasting techniques with the insights from scenario-planning, to analyze the conditions under which California can preserve access to its system of public higher education. The study identified two trends currently dominating the issue of future…