The COVID-19 pandemic raised many challenges for faculty in higher education systems. The uncertainty, additional work, and burnout that faculty may have experienced early in the pandemic as they transitioned from in-person to online teaching may have led to some faculty leaving academia. The purpose of this study was to explore changes in faculty…

Prior studies have documented the pattern of decreased state funding for higher education in periods of economic contraction (i.e., the balance wheel phenomenon). This qualitative case study examines how policymakers in California and Texas made decisions about funding higher education at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, when policymakers faced…

In March 2020, COVID-19 sent shocking changes through California's public higher educational institutions' means and methods of operating, which resulted in sharp drops in revenue along with sudden costs associated with on-campus COVID-19 safety measures and with moving courses and student services online. To make matters worse, state funding also…

In order to assist higher education institutions and their students during the pandemic, the federal government established the Higher Education Emergency Relief (HEER) Fund, which directed over $75 billion to institutions of higher education--including nearly $25 billion to community colleges--over a three-year period. The U.S. Department of…

During economic recessions, state funding for higher education contracts (Delaney & Doyle, 2011; Hovey, 1999; SHEEO, 2022). Despite this reality, public higher education officials need to offer insights and explanations to state legislators about the current status of their institutions and their needs when discussing their budget requests. We…

Higher education gets a bad rap these days. The public perception is that there is a growing rift between public universities and the elected officials who support them. In "What's Public about Public Higher Ed?," Stephen M. Gavazzi and E. Gordon Gee explore the reality of that supposed divide, offering qualitative and quantitative…

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted higher education in California, forcing students and institutions to adapt rapidly to the public health and economic crisis. Institutions' revenue streams were predicted to decline just as new and increased costs for health, safety, and online education burdened budgets. The federal government provided over $10…

For over 5 years, The Education Trust-West's #Data4ThePeople campaign has been a statewide effort to ensure California builds a data system that is designed with achieving equity and the needs of students, parents, and families at the center. Now with school and college closures caused by COVID-19 posing a real challenge to data accessibility and…

This paper documents the experience of California college students in the midst of the pandemic as their academic and home lives were disrupted. The analysis relies on a survey sent to all financial aid applicants statewide. Survey respondents include nearly 100,000 students enrolled in both two-year and four-year postsecondary institutions.…

The pandemic created daunting challenges for higher education. The federal government provided California Community Colleges billions of dollars in aid for students and institutions. How did they use these funds? How well did their pandemic recovery activities and investments help reengage students? What will institutions do when the money runs…

Due to wildfires in the fall of 2019 and the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020, Sonoma State University lost 50 service-learning courses and, as a result, almost 900 fewer students completed a service-learning course than in the previous year. During the summer of 2020, the Center for Community Engagement began developing service-learning…

Parents, students and school communities have been forced to respond to the COVID-19 crisis in unprecedented ways. What are their reactions to the responses by school districts and state officials to this crisis? How has this affected their feelings about state government and how are families faring as they face challenges like distance learning?…

The COVID-19 global pandemic had far-ranging consequences for California State University higher education union staff members' mental health and well-being. Research had not yet examined the impact of the pandemic on the California State University system's union front line higher education staff members. The aim of this study was to identify the…

The purpose of this mixed methods research study was to explore the practice of academic advising and the challenges associated with virtual advising in California higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic. Advising is a retention practice recognized as critical to student success because advisors are one of few personnel interactions students…

California has begun moving toward a "cradle to career" approach that connects early childhood, K-12, and higher education more closely. But COVID-19 has disrupted learning, funding, and progress toward improving student outcomes and has exacerbated racial and economic equity gaps. This publication is part of a briefing kit that focuses…