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.
February 27, 2020 - In this brief, we provide an overview of the Governor’s proposed budget for the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC). We then (1) assess the Governor’s Cal Grant cost estimates, (2) analyze the Governor’s proposal to fund a student loan outreach initiative, and (3) analyze the Governor’s state operations proposals for CSAC.
March 30, 2022 - This post describes the differences between the original Middle Class Scholarship program and the revamped program scheduled to go into effect in 2022-23. It then examines the estimated impacts of the revamped program and raises associated issues for legislative consideration.
February 20, 2020 - In this report, we analyze the Governor’s higher education budget proposals. Similar to last year, these proposals are wide ranging—including large base increases; targeted increases for apprenticeship programs and food pantries; one-time initiatives relating to extended education programs, work-based learning, faculty diversity, and animal shelters; and many facility projects.
January 7, 2013 - In response to concerns about the quality of some postsecondary institutions, California recently adopted new eligibility standards for colleges participating in the Cal Grant programs. The standards include a maximum student loan default rate and a minimum graduation rate. This report traces the history of these changes and assesses their impacts. We find that the changes, which primarily affect students at for-profit schools, are generally working as intended but have three notable drawbacks: (1) schools can manipulate the default rate, (2) the rules exempt some institutions without strong justification for doing so, and (3) the standards penalize institutions serving more disadvantaged students. We recommend exploring alternative student debt measures when the information needed to calculate these measures becomes more readily available. We also recommend applying the graduation rate requirement to all schools but modifying the measure to track the graduation rate only of Cal Grant recipients. In addition, we recommend taking into consideration a school's student characteristics to avoid creating a disincentive to serve disadvantaged students.
February 15, 2018 -
In this report, we analyze the Governor’s higher education budget proposals. We begin by providing an overview of higher education in California. In the next four sections, we analyze the Governor’s budget proposals for the three public higher education segments and the California Student Aid Commission. In each of these sections, we provide relevant background, describe and assess the proposals, and make associated recommendations. The final section of the report consists of a summary of our recommendations.
In addition to this report, we have three other higher education budget briefs that analyze the Governor’s proposals for adult education, Hastings College of the Law, and the California Education Learning Lab.
January 31, 2017 - The Supplemental Report of the 2016-17 Budget Act directs our office to estimate the cost of a new state financial aid program intended to eliminate the need for students to take on college debt. We estimate such a program for resident undergraduate students attending public colleges in California would cost $3.3 billion annually, on top of all existing gift aid. Adding certain eligibility requirements to the program could reduce these costs notably. For several reasons, the new program likely would reduce but not eliminate student loan debt. Additionally, the new program could create behavioral changes not factored into our estimate.
February 27, 2015 - In this report, we provide an overview of the Governor’s higher education budget. We then review the segments' performance in certain key areas and assess the degree to which the segments require enrollment growth funding, base funding increases, and facilities funding. We find the segments have improved performance in some areas but additional improvement is needed. We find little to warrant additional enrollment growth at UC and CSU, and available data indicate CCC likely will not use all the growth funding provided in 2014-15. We recommend against unallocated budget increases, instead recommending that the Legislature link base increases to a cost-of-living adjustment and any additional increases to specified state priorities. We review several facility proposals and make various related recommendations, including recommending the Legislature establish state facility priorities and require the segments to submit a report describing how they plan to eliminate their maintenance backlogs.
February 16, 2021 - This report analyzes the Governor’s major budget proposals for the community colleges, covering base apportionments, enrollment, students’ basic needs, online tools, apprenticeships and work-based learning, instructional materials, and faculty professional development.
February 18, 2022 - This brief analyzes the Governor’s budget proposals related to student financial aid at the California Student Aid Commission, the Scholarshare Investment Board, and the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation.
January 19, 2011 - The Governor’s proposed 2011-12 budget includes sizable General Fund reductions for the state’s university systems and the community colleges totaling about $1.4 billion. While the administration does not provide many specific proposals as to how those reductions would be accommodated, they could affect access to higher education programs, the price paid by students, average class size, and the availability of various related services, among other things. The budget assumes fee and tuition increases at all three public segments. At the same time, the Governor’s budget would fully fund financial aid programs, thus helping to ensure that cost does not prevent enrollment by financially needy students. The budget also includes General Fund augmentations to backfill one-time federal funds received by the universities in 2010-11, pay for increased retirement costs, and cover other workload adjustments.
March 5, 2014 - Presented to Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 2 on Education Finance