Education

The 2022-23 Budget: Overview of the Governor's Higher Education Budget Proposals

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January 26, 2022 - This brief provides an overview and initial assessment of the Governor’s higher education budget package.

The 2022-23 Budget: Overview of the Governor's Budget

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January 13, 2022 - On January 10, 2022, Governor Newsom presented his proposed state budget to the Legislature. In this report, we provide a brief summary of the proposed budget based on our initial review. In the coming weeks, we will analyze the plan in more detail and release several additional budget analyses.

Update (1/21/22): Includes a corrected estimate of Governor’s Budget proposals that are excludable under the State Appropriations Limit (SAL).

An Analysis of the University of California’s Agricultural and Natural Resource Programs

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January 6, 2022 - The University of California (UC) operates Agricultural Experiment Stations and Cooperative Extension—two programs that together focus on research and outreach involving agriculture and natural resource issues. This report provides an overview of these programs—discussing their statutory origin, structure, employees, and budget. The report also raises a few concerns with the state’s oversight of these programs and concludes by providing recommendations to enhance oversight.

Overview of Mental Health Services for College Students

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December 10, 2021 - This post describes the mental health services available to students attending California’s public colleges and universities, highlights recent developments in student mental health since the start of the pandemic, and assesses the data currently available on student mental health issues. It concludes with a recommendation to enhance related reporting requirements applying to the three public higher education segments.

Overview of Student Housing

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November 8, 2021 - Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 2 on Education Finance

The 2021-22 Spending Plan: Higher Education

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October 11, 2021 - This budget post summarizes the state’s 2021‑22 spending package for higher education. It is part of our Spending Plan series. In this post, we cover spending for the California Community Colleges (CCC), California State University (CSU), University of California (UC), student financial aid, California State Library, and certain initiatives that crosscut the education segments.

Correction (6/10/22): Totals for on-going and one-time UC core funding have been corrected.

The 2021-22 May Revision—Overview and Analysis of Workforce Development Proposals

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May 18, 2021 - This handout lists the Governor's workforce proposals, provides a high-level assessment of those proposals, and offers guidance were the Legislature to want to increase spending in this area.

The 2021-22 Budget: Initial Comments on the Governor’s May Revision

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May 17, 2021 - On May 14, 2021, Governor Newsom presented a revised state budget proposal to the Legislature. (This annual proposed revised budget is called the “May Revision.”) In this post, we provide a summary of the Governor’s revised budget, focusing on the overall condition and structure of the state General Fund—the budget’s main operating account. In the coming days, we will analyze the plan in more detail and provide additional comments in hearing testimony and online.

Third Round of Federal Higher Education Relief Funding

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May 3, 2021 - The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 is the third piece of federal legislation that provides substantial COVID-19 relief funding directly to colleges and universities. This post recaps the key elements of the first two rounds of relief funding, then describes the key elements of this third round.

The 2021-22 Budget: “Cradle to Career” Data System

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March 26, 2021 - Provides background on process to date toward creating an integrated education data system and other related data tools (collectively referred to as the "Cradle to Career" data system), describes the Governor's proposals to fund the development of specific components of this system, assesses these proposals, and makes associated recommendations.

The 2021-22 Budget: Various CSU Proposals

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March 9, 2021 - This post analyzes four of the Governor’s budget proposals for the California State University (CSU). Specifically, the post covers proposals relating to CSU Stanislaus’s off-campus center in Stockton, the Computing Talent Initiative based at CSU Monterey Bay, CSU’s ability to transfer funds among its accounts, and summer-term student financial aid.

The 2021-22 Budget: University Capital Outlay

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March 5, 2021 - In this post, we focus on university capital outlay projects. We first provide background on university capital financing and project review. We then review capital outlay proposals for the California State University (CSU) and the University of California (UC). Next, we raise some concerns with the previously authorized UC Merced medical school project and make an associated recommendation. We end the post by offering several other recommendations intended to strengthen legislative oversight of university projects.

The 2021-22 Budget: California Institutes for Science and Innovation

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March 2, 2021 - In this post, we describe the Governor’s proposal relating to the California Institutes for Science and Innovation (hereafter referred to as “the institutes”), which are administered by the University of California (UC). We first provide background on the institutes’ activities and budget. Next, we describe the Governor’s proposal. We then offer our assessment of the proposal and make an associated recommendation.

The 2021-22 Budget: UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources

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February 26, 2021 - In this post, we analyze the Governor’s proposals relating to base funding for the Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR) at the University of California (UC). We first provide background on ANR’s operations and budget. Next, we describe the Governor’s ANR proposals and the additional ANR funding included in the February early action package. We then offer our assessment of the proposals and make associated recommendations.

The 2021-22 Budget: UC Programs in Medical Education

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February 26, 2021 - This post analyzes the Governor's proposal to provide a General Fund augmentation to the University of California's Programs in Medical Education. These programs provide medical education focused on health equity and clinical experiences focused on underserved communities.