California had a long tradition of very low tuition for students enrolled in public higher education. The state broke with that policy in the 2000s, when recessions resulted in significant cuts to state funding for public colleges and universities--the University of California (UC), California State University (CSU), and California's community colleges. In response, tuition increased, especially at UC and CSU. To mitigate the impact of higher tuition, the state and public colleges spent significantly more on financial aid to help low- and moderate-income students attend college. The report examines how the state was mostly able to balance its goals of affordability, access, and quality while dealing with the financial crises of the past recessions. It also examines how: (1) Higher tuition made the public four-year universities less affordable for some; (2) Higher tuition and less state funding coincided with decreases in access at public institutions; and (3) CSU and community colleges saw declines in faculty ratios and pay. Looking forward, the author argue, the state should consider developing a long-term tuition policy: shifting away from the yearly, budget-driven process would provide stakeholders with more certainty and prevent large, unpredictable increases during recessions. In addition, if the state chooses to develop a more deliberate tuition policy, it will be important to take into account that tuition comprises only a part of students' rising college costs and that campuses may respond differently to tuition increases. A more comprehensive assessment of how recent changes to tuition, state funding, and financial aid have affected different student groups and institutions would help shed light on these issues but would also require more detailed data than are currently available. Tuition policy has changed significantly in California. While some call for the return to the days of very low or no tuition, eliminating tuition is now very expensive and would cost about $4 billion a year. However, even without taking such a dramatic step, California policymakers can still focus on improving current practice to ensure the state's objectives for affordability, access, and quality in public higher education are met. [Supported with funding from the Sutton Family Fund.]