Assessment of the Strong Workforce Program

Dec 10, 2025 - Over the years, numerous studies have examined the effectiveness of workforce development programs. Some studies have found that these programs increase participants ’ employment and/or earnings, while other studies have found no effect.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5098

The 2026-27 Budget: California Education Learning Lab

Mar 25, 2026 - Similarly, UC Berkeley is receiving federal grant funding to work with community colleges to better serve transfer students in computer science and other related fields of study. Recommendation Recommend Rejecting Governor ’s Proposal.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5171

The 2026-27 Budget: Community College Facilities

Mar 17, 2026 - These projects must be accompanied by a third-party study identifying imminent health or safety risks, seismic risks, or failing infrastructure. The Chancellor ’s Office may designate up to 50  percent of state funding each year for life safety projects, though the amount needed to fund all project proposals in this category is typically much lower.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5159

Trends in Higher Education: College Affordability [Publication Details]

Mar 14, 2024 - This brief is the second of a six-part series covering higher education trends in California. The second brief focuses on college affordability. It covers changes in cost of attendance and student financial aid over the past few decades.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/4884

The 2024-25 California Spending Plan: Higher Education

Sep 11, 2024 - The initiative was intended to provide students from underrepresented backgrounds with subsidized work-study opportunities related to their area of study or career interests. Most of the original $500  million appropriation was unspent as of June 2024 and the state reverted the remaining funds to help address its budget deficit.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4926

UC Merced at 20: Campus Developments and Key State-Level Takeaways

Nov 7, 2024 - Specifically, we reviewed an academic study by Lee (2019), the most recent study UC Merced commissioned (2020), and the most recent study UCOP commissioned (2021). Findings from the Lee study suggest that UC Merced contributed to a 13  percent increase in jobs in the local services sector (with students and campus employees increasing demand for things like restaurants, haircuts, and health care).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4937

Assessing Community College Programs at State Prisons

Jul 1, 2024 - (As further context, the state does not provide the higher education segments with specific funding earmarks to complete their data collection requirements and facility utilization studies.) Given that the results of the recommended data and studies have the potential to notably improve legislative decision ‑making on prison postsecondary education policy and programs moving forward, we believe the added administrative workload is warranted.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4913

The 2025-26 Budget: California Student Aid Commission

Feb 28, 2025 - CCA specializes in the study of art, architecture, design, and writing. It  opened in Berkeley in 1907, relocated to Oakland in 1922, and opened a second campus site in San Francisco in 1996. Serving as a two ‑campus institution for more than two decades, CCA is currently transitioning down to a one ‑campus institution, retaining only its San Francisco site.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4994

The 2025-26 Budget: Community College Facilities

Mar 18, 2025 - These projects must be accompanied by a third-party study identifying imminent health or safety risks, seismic risks, or failing infrastructure. The district is generally required to cover at least 25  percent of the associated project costs.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5017

The 2021-22 Budget: Various CSU Proposals

Mar 9, 2021 - The Chancellor ’s Office contracted with a team of independent consultants on the study, which was released in July 2020. The study concluded that projected enrollment demand did not justify a new campus in any of the five areas, as the existing CSU campuses have sufficient capacity under their master plans to accommodate projected growth.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4399