Brown Statement on Higher Ed in California

Gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown released a plan for education. Most of it deals with K-12. However, there is a section on higher ed reproduced below. It picks up on the prisons vs. higher ed theme that the current governor sounded back in January – although there is no promise of an initiative that the governor outlined at that time.

From:
http://www.jerrybrown.org/sites/default/files/Education%20Plan.pdf

Higher Education
The California Master Plan was created in 1960. When I was Governor in the 1970s, the Master Plan was working far better to provide college access and success. In recent years, however, the master plan has been undermined, and it is unclear whether the current financial model for our universities can be sustained.
Recent state budgets have raised tuition drastically, reduced the number of new students–as well transfers from community colleges–to CSUC, cut class sections so that students cannot get basic classes they need, and driven good professors to other states. Students are dropping out because of high costs and the extended time needed to finish. California’s historic public university research base is declining.

This situation calls for a major overhaul of many components of the postsecondary system. We need to convene a representative group to create a new state Master Plan.

We must also reverse the decades long trend of transferring state support from higher education to prisons. We can do this without sacrificing public safety. For example, as Attorney General, I recently blocked a proposed $8 billion prison hospital expansion—which was unnecessarily expensive and which would have added substantially to our state’s deficit. By relentlessly pursuing similar cost savings, we can channel needed funds to our higher education system.

The introduction of online learning and the use of new technologies should be explored to the fullest, as well as ―extended University programs. Technology can increase educational productivity, expand access to higher learning, and reduce costs.

Focus on Community Colleges:
California’s community college system has 72 districts, 110 colleges and more than 2.9 million students and plays a critical role in providing education in a wide range of occupational skills and courses for students intending to transfer to four-year schools.
Given the effective leadership demonstrated in local community colleges, burdensome state regulations and mandates should be kept to a minimum.
Transfer courses should be closely aligned with, and accepted by, the CSUC and UC systems. For example, transfer students are often forced to take redundant courses to graduate from the CSUC system even though they have completed equivalent coursework in community college.