In 1960 Clark Kerr then President of University of California developed a “Master Plan for Higher Education”. The Donahue Education Act of 1960 as the resulting bill was entitled became law. The Master Plan defined specific educational roles for the already-existing University of California (UC), the California State University (CSU), and the Community Colleges system (CCC). For example, the CSU campuses would be given responsibility for teacher training. In addition, the Plan laid out that the top 12.5% of graduating high school seniors would be guaranteed a place at a UC campus, the top third would be able to enroll at a CSU and the community colleges would accept all applications.

 

I. Application Process: Objective Factors Assure Open Access But Not Much Attention to “Good Fit”

 

Certain of the UC’s express the goal of more “holistic” review of applications. But does the current application process provide reviewers with necessary information?

High school seniors and students wishing to transfer to a UC must do so online between November 1 and November 30. www.universityofcalifornia.edu/apply

Good news is they complete one application and merely click the boxes for the individual campuses. Bad news is the online application itself acts as a rigid screening device. For example, students are allowed to self-report only UC approved academic classes in “a-g” categories. If the student’s high school has not submitted the necessary information to the UC’s then the class will not be an approved class and not be found in the drop down list. At a local high school if a student takes Drawing and Painting the prerequisite to Advanced Art he/she will not be able to report it on the academic section of the application, but Beginning Ceramics can be listed.  The UC application does allow the student to provide information on extracurricular activities, community service, employment history, and submit essays totaling 1000 words answering two broad prompts–all offering the reviewer more insight into the student than straight grades and test scores. Counselor recommendations are part of the process, but no teacher recommendations are allowed. Given the detailed requirements, ongoing counseling is important for high school students. Taking Drawing and Painting instead of Ceramics can be the difference between acceptance and rejection. [It should be noted that California has one of the highest student to counselor ratios in the country.]

 

California State Universities have an award winning site to help high school

students plan their  preparation and application to CSU’s.

CSU applications are available online October 1 with priority submission period November 1 through November 30. Some campuses continue to accept applications after that date if they believe they have space available.

www.csumentor.com offers students as young as middle school critical planning information for admissions to CSU. Unlike the UC application(s) each school has its own application but common information is shared across CSU applications as they are completed online at the CSU Mentor site. For some CSU’s (ie Cal Poly San Luis Obispo) students must declare a major and the application is reviewed against other applications for that major making some majors very competitive (often impacted) and others not so competitive. As with UC’s the student self-reports the CSU academic requirements he/she has met along with grades requiring the understanding of a complicated system for handling D’s and retakes. Particularly in this area timely counseling will make sure the student knows which classes he must take and retake before it is too late.  Policies vary between campuses as to whether classes taken summer after high school can be used to meet admission requirements.  The CSU’s do not offer students the opportunity to submit extracurricular activities (contra. Cal Poly SLO has five general questions concerning time spent major, activities, employment), an essay, a counselor recommendation or a teacher recommendation.  In fact criteria is so objective that students can enter their GPA and SAT/ACT scores into a formula and to learn their chances of acceptance.

 

California Community Colleges all comers are welcomed in, but its not  easy to exit.

California Community Colleges are vital players in public education in California. Both high school and postsecondary individuals enroll in a variety of classes at affordable fees. Within 3 miles in either direction is Pasadena City College (30,000 full time students) and Glendale Community College (5,000 full time and 12,000 part time students).  For students wishing to begin their four-year college education at a community college, deciding which four year college(s) or university you wish to transfer to is particularly important. www.assist.org is a good resource for more information on transferring to four year colleges and universities. With few exceptions community college transfers must apply to UC and CSU’s by their November 30 deadlines and have completed both the general education requirements and any separate requirements for a particular major at the school they hope to attend. There is limited opportunity to transfer to a UC or CSU as a sophomore. The preferred “path” is transferring in as a junior. As would be expected most private colleges are more flexible with transfer applications some offering transfer deadlines throughout the year. Note most private colleges/universities will not pre-review a student’s completed coursework to determine what coursework will transfer. The applicant must submit an application first. Again timely counseling is important for community college students.

 

II. Is the California Postsecondary Public Education System Working?

 

Reputation.

Though California public universities continue to have a strong reputation, failure to invest in capacity and professors may be beginning to take their toll on the quality of education.  Kiplinger does one of the few annual comparisons of public universities. In this year’s comparison rankings for instate students across the country, the flagship UC Berkeley was 18^th, UC Los Angeles 10^th, and U of Washington leading the PAC 10 at 9^th. Only one CSU made the top 100—Cal Poly San Luis Obispo at 41^st. For complete listing see www.Kiplinger.com

 

Accessibility

In a May 1996 report by Rand Corporation entitled “Revisiting California’s Master Plan for Undergraduate Education” Michael Shires predicted that by 2011 (now only three years away) more than 1,000,000 prospective students will be denied access to California’s public colleges and universities. This prediction is based on studies of student costs, state funding and facility capacity.

 

Meeting the Needs Of California Economy

Though far from a scientific analysis of this question, the State of California is facing critical shortages of both teachers and nurses. The California public education system has failed to make the necessary adjustments to provide adequate programs to meet these health care and education needs. Largely unchanged since even before the Master Plan, CSU’s train teachers, not UC’s (contra. UC Riverside now offers a teaching credential program).

 

With the proposed 10% budget cut this year the outlook is not bright. UC Regents recently reported that based on Governor’s budget predictions they will need to cut $500 M from their 2008-2009 budget as approved. The CSU’s are already implementing admissions policies to assure 10% lower enrollment 2008-2009 enabling them to layoff 200 members of the faculty inorder to balance their budget. It’s a tough time for California high school graduates community college students wishing to transfer who can’t afford a private college or university.