This Winter 2007 quarterly newsletter from the Community College League of California includes: (1) Incumbents: Some Win, Some Lose in November Trustee Elections; (2) Voters Approve $2 Billion in Bonds; (3) Photos from the "Together We Can" conference; (4) Report, Media Criticize Transfer, Completion Rates and Colleges; (5) District…

There is a persistent concern over mismatches between the degrees awarded by universities and the needs of the job market. Although there are shortages of graduates in some fields, many university graduates have difficulty finding jobs that make good use of their education. This has been discussed in newspaper articles, in education and business…

Graduation rates are a fundamental indicator of whether or not the nation's public school system is doing what it is intended to do: enroll, engage, and educate youth to be productive members of society. Since almost 90 percent of the fastest-growing and highest-paying jobs require some postsecondary education, having a high school diploma and the…

This is the first in a series of MPR Research Briefs published on the outcomes and experiences of California community college students. California Community Colleges (CCC) enroll roughly two-thirds of all California college students and nearly one-fourth of all community college students in the nation. Their low fees and open-admission policies…

The United States is becoming less globally competitive as other nations move aggressively to educate their populations. To lead the world once again in educational attainment--President Obama's goal by 2020--more Americans will need to enter college. But the biggest challenge isn't college going; it is college completion. Around the country,…

This qualitative study examined the perceptions of educators and parents of the California High School (CAHSEE) requirements for students with disabilities. In the state of California, all seniors who graduate from a public high school are required the pass the CAHSEE in order to receive a high school diploma. This graduation requirement is a…

In this study, the long-term academic effects of mentoring relationships in higher education are explored, with particular emphasis on students in ethnic categories with a low first-year retention rate. A sample of 339 undergraduate students in a student-faculty mentor program was statistically paired with 339 nonmentored controls on gender,…

In March 2008, the California Postsecondary Education Commission raised the concern that the needs of students with disabilities, and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) students have not been sufficiently addressed. While facing different issues, these groups constitute sizable proportions of the general population and of postsecondary…

The purpose of a state report card is to provide the general public and policymakers with information to assess and improve post secondary education in each state. "Measuring Up 2008" is the fifth in a series of biennial report cards that evaluates states in six overall performance categories: (1) Preparation for post-secondary education…

This edition of the PPIC (Public Policy Institute of California) Statewide Survey is the fourth in a series of surveys funded by The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation focusing on higher education. This survey seeks to inform state policymakers, encourage discussion, and raise public awareness about the state's public higher education…

In this article, we consider the ways in which educational policies and institutions today enable or obstruct young people who are immigrant English-language learners as they seek to cross cultural and educational borders. Contrasting a class action suit in California protesting high stakes testing that will significantly limit graduation rates,…

In this article, the authors describe McLane High School's Turning Points Academy (TPA), a revolutionary program which was created to counter the low graduation rates and even lower college attendance rates at McLane (Fresno, California). TPA, which began in 1994, is a small learning community that each spring brings 145 McLane sophomores to the…

This report responds to the California Postsecondary Education Commission's interest in pursuing further study of the gender gap for males in California postsecondary education. It provides some additional data on the gap in K-12 graduation rates and university eligibility and discusses the implications for future workforce needs. Recommended…

The primary research question for this project was whether a streamlined, relatively inexpensive, counseling-based program that assists low-income high school students with the college and financial application processes can significantly increase college enrollment rates. The intervention was designed to test the hypothesis that lack of…

This report contains estimates of the cost to California's public schools of meeting the state's achievement standards. In the aggregate, the cost is about 40 percent greater than the expenditures of California schools in 2003-04. The bulk of these additional costs are for resources needed to boost achievement in schools primarily serving students…