The California community college system is the largest provider of publicly funded career education in the state. Community colleges are therefore critical for effective and equitable workforce training, even as the system has a governance and financing structure that creates challenges to connecting college programs to careers. Furthermore, there…

The California Community College (CCC) system serves a large student body, diverse in backgrounds, experiences, and educational goals. This report uses data from the CCC system's records to measure variation in achievement across the state's Strong Workforce Regions. We consider a range of achievement measures, including initial enrollments,…

These technical appendixes accompany the study, "Getting to Graduation on Time at California State University." The study uses a combination of campus-wide and student-level data from the California State University (CSU) system to examine the relationship between course-taking and on-time graduation. The first appendix provides…

The majority of freshmen entering California State University (CSU) system graduate, but most do not do so within four years. Graduating later has many costs--from the tuition and associated costs for extra years of schooling to forgoing years of entering the workforce--and students from low-income families as well as students of color are more…

Higher education is a key driver of economic growth and individual opportunity in California. But the state has not been keeping up with a strong and growing demand for skilled workers. Recent investments and initiatives have helped increase enrollment, graduation rates, and the number of degrees awarded. Substantial gains in these…

When students take courses out of sequence, it can have a detrimental effect on both teaching and learning. At California State University-Fresno, we see a considerable number of freshmen taking upper division classes and an even larger number of upper-division students taking lower level classes. The purpose of this study was to examine academic…

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 report examines the ratio of part-time students to full-time students enrolled at the University of California and the California State University--and the trends in enrollment over the past five years. It also discusses the fiscal impact part-time enrollment has on both the State and the individual student. Appended are: (1) Part-time…

Measuring the progress of students toward completing their college education is an important gauge of how well California's postsecondary education systems are meeting the needs of students and the public. This report provides an assessment of persistence as a measure of student success at California's public universities and is one of a series of…

This report is one in a series examining performance measures adopted by the Commission as part of an accountability framework for higher education in California. All measures correspond to one of four goals: (1) Student Preparation for College; (2) Affordability and Access; (3) Student Success in Progressing through College; and (4) Public…