The Future of Public Undergraduate Education in California
The Future of Public Undergraduate Education in California

Author: M. Shires

Publisher: RAND Corporation

Published: 1996

Total Pages: 180

ISBN-13:

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In 1960, the California Master Plan for Higher Education set a goal of providing access to every Californian who could benefit from it. As a result of the commitment, California has developed one of the largest most successful public postsecondary education sectors in the nation. State fiscal constraints have combined with exploding population growth, however, to call the state's ability to sustain that goal into question. Several studies have looked at this issue, including two reviews by the State Legislature. This report examines the state's prospects for meeting the goal of the master plan in the context of its future demographic and fiscal environment. The research uses a dynamic simulation model to estimate the target level of education envisioned in the master plan and the levels likely to be attained under a range of scenarios. It finds that the state will not be able to meet nearly half of the target-level demand overall. The study also finds that the prospects of closing this gap through increased revenues, increased fees, and increased productivity are not feasible. It concludes that the state must take two actions: (1) it must reevaluate the access goals of the master plan and focus on ways to maximize the return on its education investment; and (2) the three public systems should focus their resources on restructuring the way in which they deliver the education product to maximize the ability of the state to serve as many citizens as possible.

Breaking the Social Contract
Breaking the Social Contract

Author: Roger W. Benjamin

Publisher: RAND Corporation

Published: 1998

Total Pages: 38

ISBN-13:

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The central finding of this report, commissioned by the California Education Round Table, is that the present course of higher education in California--in which student demand, tuition, and costs are rising much faster than public funding--cannot be sustained. Unless effective steps are taken to alter current trends, sizable numbers of Californians will be denied access to higher education within the next 20 years. If that should happen, many will find themselves excluded from the growing number of occupations that require postsecondary course work for employment. This education bottleneck is narrowing at a time when economic inequality is increasing in the state and social demographics are shifting. The research offers recommendations for coping with this crisis that emphasize the need for greater public support of higher education in California along with comprehensive institutional reform so that available resources can be reallocated and other changes implemented to streamline operations. California must devise an effective strategic plan now for developing its human resources.

Financing American Higher Education in the Era of Globalization
Financing American Higher Education in the Era of Globalization

Author: William Zumeta

Publisher: Harvard Education Press

Published: 2021-02-23

Total Pages: 372

ISBN-13: 1612502539

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This ambitious book grows out of the realization that a convergence of economic, demographic, and political forces in the early twenty-first century requires a fundamental reexamination of the financing of American higher education. The authors identify and address basic issues and trends that cut across the sectors of higher education, focusing on such questions as how much higher education the country needs for individual opportunity and for economic viability in the future; how responsibility for paying for it is currently allocated; and how financing higher education should be addressed in the future.

Higher Education in Transition
Higher Education in Transition

Author: Brian L. Fife

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 1999-12-30

Total Pages: 233

ISBN-13: 0313034265

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This book explores the state of higher education at century's end and the challenges awaiting it in the next millennium. It assesses changes in the student population, the role of faculty, spending patterns, government support, the role of intercollegiate athletics, the nature of presidential leadership, and the impact of technological change. This volume is a call to educators, parents, and taxpayers alike to enter into a dialogue about the future directions of higher education that they are willing to support. Because in the last few decades higher education has attempted to extend both its reach and scope despite the finite nature of resources at its disposal, the new millennium will mark a time when colleges and universities must clearly delimit and prioritize their goals. This volume is a call to educators, parents, and taxpayers alike to enter into a dialogue about the future directions of higher education that they are willing to support. The role of higher education in a high-tech, interdependent world economy has never been more important than it is today. Yet, never before has its future been so cloudy. Changes in the nature of the student population, tuition increases that consistently outpace the cost of living, increasing conflict between faculty and administration personnel, attacks on tenure, the professionalization of collegiate sports, and political attacks and threats to state funding are all transforming an institution in ways that are, as yet, uncertain at best. This volume reviews the source and impact of change on today's colleges and universities. Leading scholars contribute chapters on specific aspects of collegiate life and the way internal and external forces are changing the scope and function of higher education.