This commentary suggests that new school design is a fertile policy context for advancing research-practice partnerships. The authors represent four public universities that have created new school designs in partnership with urban school districts. Unlike the laboratory schools of previous generations, these university-partnered public schools…

In this article, the author addresses questions about the future of faculty unions, business models, and the academy by providing some current and historical context regarding the causes of and conflicts about faculty unions. He also reviews trends in college and university management over the past three decades, using California, Ohio, and…

In this article, the authors discuss the contest of faculties on discerning the politics of social engagement in the academy. They begin by noting that the relationship between scholarship and social engagement is by no means obvious or unproblematic. They know, for example, that there are less conspicuous forms of scholarly engaged activities…

In this article, the author talks about California's Master Plan for Higher Education, which offered a vision of access, affordability, and quality that was bold, inspiring, and attainable. It was predicated on the understanding that an educational system with such characteristics is essential to the cultural, political, and economic health of a…

A case pending in a federal court of appeals in California may clarify a surprisingly murky question: Do faculty members at public universities enjoy a special privilege to speak freely about institutional matters, or, as far as the First Amendment is concerned, are they just another category of government hirelings? Juan Hong, a professor of…

While colleges and legal analysts are focusing on what to do in the post-Hopwood world, some of us are still asking whether a move away from affirmative action was a prudent move from the beginning. Is it fair for society to move away from supporting students who have not had an equitable chance at the educational brass ring just because, in most…

A study was done of Californians' attitudes toward public higher education and its future in comparison to attitudes across the nation. The study conducted eight focus groups in California and used those findings to generate hypotheses tested through two telephone surveys. A California survey was conducted with 832 residents 18 years of age or…

Every state in the union has "sunshine" laws that apply to public higher education, and the leaders of public institutions deal directly or indirectly with these laws almost daily. Sunshine statutes go to the very heart of institutional functioning, influencing presidential searches and selection, board deliberations, research and…

This report projects 12-year enrollment demand for California's three public higher education systems, analyzes campus physical capacity and projected capital outlay costs, and discusses economic trends and California's ability to sell bonds to finance future higher education construction. The report is a major update to a 1995 report, "A…

J. Michael Thompson is the Vice Provost for Enrollment Management and Dean of Admission and Financial Aid at the University of Southern California. J. Michael has worked in higher education for more than 30 years in a variety of roles at small private and mid-sized and large public universities, and now at USC, a large private university. He has…

This report identifies and discusses some key findings of a data base project that analyzed public finance of public education over 35 years in California. It seeks to understand the relationship between state policy, as expressed in the Master Plan for Higher Education, and financial support of higher education. Among findings highlighted are the…

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…

Under the Master Plan of 1960, California was the first state to provide universal access to higher education for all high school graduates. Despite great success at all levels, higher education in California is now facing a crisis. This report makes nine broad recommendations for action concerning a new plan for California education to be created…

Under the Master Plan of 1960, California was the first state to provide universal access to higher education for all high school graduates. Despite great success at all levels, higher education in California is now facing a crisis. National and state-wide recessions have reduced resources while potential enrollment is sharply increasing from…

The California Postsecondary Education Commission adopted the following six priorities for the state budget for higher education during fiscal year 1989-90: (1) expanding funding for adult education programs in English as a second language and basic skills; (2) supporting enrollment growth in California's public universities; (3) implementing…