Staff
- Sara Cortez
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(916) 319-8348
Special Education, Preschool, and Child Nutrition - 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) 319-8362
California State University, Student Financial Aid - 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.
A Primer: Funding Higher Education
June 30, 2005 - Where does the funding for higher education come from? How are costs divided among various groups (such as undergraduate and graduate students)? What role do student fees play? How is financial aid funded? How does the state decide how many students to fund in a given year? The purpose of this primer is to address these and other questions related to the funding of higher education in California, so as to aid policymakers and other interested parties in their deliberations and decision making.
What Happened to the Proposal to Redirect UC and CSU Applicants to Community Colleges?
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March 4, 2005 - What Happened to the Proposal to Redirect UC and CSU Applicants to Community Colleges? This is one of a series of issue briefs examining important questions about higher education funding in California. For more information on this topic, or to request other briefs from this series, contact the Legislative Analyst’s Office Higher Education section at (916) 319-8339, or visit our website at www.lao.ca.gov.
Student Fees
February 24, 2005 - We describe the fee increased proposed for the state's public universities in the Governor's 2005-06 budget. We raise concerns with how revenue from these fee increases would be treated in the proposed budget. We also recommend that the Legislature adopt a fee policy that pegs the fees students pay to a fixed share of their educational costs.
Marginal Cost Formula
February 24, 2005 - We describe the state's marginal cost methodology, which is used to calculate the funding required to pay for each additional student that attends the state's public universities. We also recommend that the Legislature revisit the marginal cost formula to better reflect actual costs.
Governor Proposes to Put Universities' Budgets on "Autopilot"
February 24, 2005 - In spring 2004 the Governor developed a "compact" with the University of California and the California State University that specifies funding targets through 2010-11. We describe the compact and its fiscal implications. We also recommend that the Legislature disregard the compact and instead continue to use the annual budget process as a mechanism to fund its priorities and to hold the segments accountable for fulfilling the mission assigned to them by the Master Plan for Higher Education.
Overview of California’s Master Plan for Higher Education
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February 22, 2005 - Presented to the Assembly Higher Education Committee on February 22, 2005.
An Assessment of Differential Funding
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September 21, 2004 - This report examines various options for funding higher education enrollment at different rates depending on type of instruction, class level, and other factors.
Where Are the State’s Universities Relative to Their Master Plan Eligibility Targets?
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June 28, 2004 - This report summarizes a recent report measuring how well the state's universities are meeting their eligibility targets as called for in the state's Master Plan.
Funding UC Faculty Research Facilities
June 23, 2004 - Faculty research generates substantial overhead revenue for UC, and a portion of this revenue is intended to pay for the construction of faculty research facilities. We find, however, that most of this research facility revenue is being used by UC for other purposes. Since hundreds of millions of dollars a year are available to UC to fund construction of faculty research facilities, we recommend the Legislature treat faculty research facilities in the same manner as it treats other higher education facilities that can be "self-funded." We recommend faculty research facilities be funded by reimbursements using nonstate funds rather than General Fund-backed bonds. This will free up hundreds of millions of dollars of scarce state resources for other high priority projects in higher education or other program areas.
Governor’s Compact With UC and CSU
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June 1, 2004 - Presented to Assembly Higher Education Committee on June 1, 2004.
First-Time Freshman Eligibility for California Public Higher Education
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June 1, 2004 - Presented to Assembly Higher Education Committee on June 1, 2004.
Funding Enrollment Growth at Community Colleges
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May 12, 2004 - Presented to Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 2 on May 12, 2004.