Staff
- Sara Cortez
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(916) 319-8348
Special Education, Preschool, Child Nutrition, and Facilities - Kenneth Kapphahn
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(916) 319-8339
Proposition 98, School District Budgets, School Transportation - Lisa Qing
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(916) 319-8306
California Community Colleges - Michael Alferes
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(916) 319-8338
Local Control Funding Formula, Charter Schools, Alternative Schools, High School Career Technical Education - Ian Klein
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(916) 319-8336
University of California; College of the Law, San Francisco; California State Library - Natalie Gonzalez
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(916) 319-8320
California State University, Student Financial Aid - Dylan Hawksworth-Lutzow
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(916) 319-8308
Child Care, Expanded Learning, Teachers, and Education Technology - Edgar Cabral
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(916) 319-8343
Deputy Legislative Analyst: K-12 Education - Jennifer Pacella
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(916) 319-8332
Deputy Legislative Analyst: Higher Education
Publications
Education
To browse all LAO publications, visit our Publications page.
Student Fees
February 21, 2007 - The Governor’s budget assumes that the University of California and the California State University will enact fee increases of 7 percent and 10 percent for resident students at their respective campuses. We recommend lower fee increases of 2.4 percent for both systems. The 2.4 percent fee increase would match the increase in overall costs experienced by the segments due to inflation, and would ensure that students continued to pay the same share of their educational cost as they are paying in the current year. We also recommend that the Legislature not “buy out” any portion of the Governor’s proposed fee increase because such an approach confuses the role of fees and undermines the Legislature’s role in budgeting. We do not recommend any change to the Governor’s proposed fee level for the community colleges, which would maintain the $20 per unit fee that went into effect in January 2007.
UC and CSU Enrollment Growth and Funding
February 21, 2007 - The Governor’s budget proposes about $120 million to fund 2.6percent enrollment growth at the University of California (UC) and 2.5percent enrollment growth at the California State University (CSU). This amount would provide $10,876 in General Fund support for each additional student at UC and $7,837 for each additional student at CSU. The proposed budget also provides $109 million for a 2 percent enrollment increase at the California Community Colleges (CCC). In this write-up, we analyze the Governor’s proposed enrollment growth and funding rates for UC and CSU in 2007-08 and recommend alternatives to those rates.
UC and CSU Outreach Programs
February 21, 2007 - Currently, the state provides over $83 million in funding to the University of California (UC) and the California State University (CSU) to support over 20 different K-14 outreach programs that focus on preparing and encouraging students from disadvantaged backgrounds to attend college. For 2007-08, the Governor’s budget proposes a $26.3 million General Fund reduction to these programs. In this write-up, we (1) provide perspectives on UC and CSU’s outreach programs and efforts to evaluate their effectiveness and (2) present different approaches for the Legislature to consider in funding and evaluating these programs.
Infrastructure Bond Implementation: Higher Education
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February 7, 2007 - Presented to Senate Education Committee. review infrastructure
A Review of UC’s Long Range Development Planning Process
January 11, 2007 - Each campus and medical center of the University of California (UC) periodically develops a long range development plan (LRDP) that guides its physical development--based on academic goals and projected student enrollment levels--for an established time horizon. This report reviews the process used by UC to prepare LRDPs and analyzes whether it adequately addresses the impacts that campus growth has on surrounding communities. We generally found a lack of accountability, standardization, and clarity in the current process, and recommend steps to make the process more transparent and effective (such as ensuring greater legislative oversight and public involvement in the development of an LRDP).
Funding Enrollment Growth at UC and CSU
March 28, 2006 - Year-to-year changes in the state’s higher education costs are greatly influenced by changes in student enrollment levels. Each year as part of the annual budget process, the Legislature must determine (1) how many additional students will enroll at the University of California and the California State University and (2) how much it will cost to serve those additional students. This report reviews factors that influence enrollment growth and the current methodology of calculating the “marginal cost” of serving additional students. Specifically, for 2006-07, we recommend, first, funding 2 percent enrollment growth at UC and CSU and second, revising the current methodology for calculating the marginal cost of enrolling an additional student, in order to more accurately budget for these expenses.
Overview of the Governor's 2006-07 Budget Proposal
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March 15, 2006 - Presented to Mervyn Dymally, Chair of the Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 2 on Education Finance.
Reforming the Governance Structure of the California Student Aid Commission and EdFund.
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March 9, 2006 - Presented to the Joint Assembly and Senate Education Committee.
UC and CSU Enrollment Growth And Funding
February 23, 2006 - The Governor’s budget proposes $110 million to fund 2.5 percent enrollment growth at the University of California (UC) and the California State University (CSU). This amount would provide $10,103 in General Fund support for each additional student at UC and $6,792 for each additional student at CSU. (The proposed budget also provides $149 million for a 3 percent enrollment increase at the California Community Colleges.) In this write-up, we (1) review recent enrollment trends at UC and CSU, (2) analyze the Governor’s proposed enrollment growth and funding rates for 2006-07, and (3) recommend alternatives to those rates.
Higher Education Student Fees
February 23, 2006 - For 2006-07, we recommend the Legislature at least maintain nonneedy students’ share of cost at the current-year level. Holding this share constant would entail modest fee increases of 3.5 percent at the University of California (UC), 3.0 percent at the California State University (CSU), and 7.0 percent at the California Community College (CCC). For a full-time undergraduate, this equates to an annual increase of $215 at UC, $76 at CSU, and $55 at CCC. These increases would generate $84 million in net new fee revenue. (Of this fee revenue, $35 million is generated at UC, and $1 million at Hastings, $24 million at CSU, and $24 million at CCC.) We also recommend the Legislature reject the Governor’s “fee buyout” proposal because it distorts budgeting and creates the wrong incentives. Rather than provide a fee buyout, we recommend the Legislature provide the segments sufficient funding to meet identified needs.
Year-Round Operations at UC and CSU
February 23, 2006 - Operating University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) campuses on a year-round schedule-which more fully utilizes the summer term-is an efficient strategy for serving additional students with existing facilities. In this write-up, we (1) review actions the state has taken to promote summer expansion, (2) provide an update on UC’s and CSU’s efforts to expand summer operations, and (3) identify issues for the Legislature to consider in regard to further summer expansion.
Community Colleges Per-Student Funding Equalization
February 23, 2006 - The Governor’s 2006-07 budget proposal includes $130 million to equalize per-student funding among community college districts. To the extent the Legislature wishes to fund priorities beyond workload increases, we recommend that the Legislature approve an augmentation sufficient to finish funding equalization to the 90th percentile, as called for in statute. However, we recommend the Legislature fund equalization contingent upon enactment of legislation providing an allocation method that preserves its equalization investment.
Restructuring How the State Administers Higher Education Grant and Loan Financial Aid Programs
February 23, 2006 - We recommend the Legislature enact legislation that would restructure how the state administers grant and loan programs. Specifically, we recommend the Legislature authorize a single agency, with a single board and Executive Director, to administer both state grant and federal loan programs. We recommend the agency be structured as a nonprofit public benefit corporation but subject to stronger accountability requirements.