COVID-19 has disrupted California Community College (CCC) students’ higher education plans, causing many to reduce their course loads or pause their education altogether. The CCCs serve high percentages of students of color and students with low incomes, and drops in enrollment can further narrow educational opportunities and undermine workforce development priorities statewide.
Ensuring every student has the chance to succeed across California’s schools is the key to broadening opportunity as well as to providing our state with the skilled, productive workforce necessary to drive long-term economic growth. By analyzing state spending and other policies related to K-12 schools, community colleges, and the CSU and UC systems, the Budget Center highlights how California can strengthen its most basic investment in the state’s future and improve outcomes for all students, especially first-generation college students and those who have not been provided equitable opportunities.
Featured Resources
Data Hit
Many Students of Color Are Less Likely to Complete the Courses Required for Admission to CSU or UC
CSU and UC require that high school students complete certain courses, known as A-G courses, to be eligible for admission. However, California high school students do not have an equal opportunity to successfully fulfill this requirement on their pathways to higher education. In 2018-19, among students of differing racial and ethnic backgrounds, the A-G course requirements were most likely to create a barrier for American Indian or Alaska Native graduates.
Data Hit
Among Asian Students, Key Student Groups Are Less Likely to Complete Courses Required for Admission to CSU or UC
CSU and UC require that high school students complete certain courses, known as A-G courses, to be eligible for admission. However, California high school students do not
have an equal opportunity to successfully fulfill these requirements. This includes Asian students, despite a “model minority” myth that obscures systemic racism, particularly in education. In 2018-19, while a quarter of all Asian students did not complete the A-G pathway, outcomes were worse for Asian students with disabilities, Asian students experiencing homelessness, and Asian students with low incomes, among others.
Report
Blocked: California Students & Higher Education
California is home to renowned public university systems, educating thousands of students every year and helping them build strong futures for themselves and their communities. The right to education is fundamental to the well-being of students and the larger society as research shows that more education can promote healthier lives and is associated with better employment prospects. However, California is failing to set students up for this future, due in part to course requirement discrepancies among high schools, CSUs, and UCs that create an inequitable barrier to admission for many students who do not have an equal opportunity to fulfill them successfully.
Data Hit
Key Student Groups Are Less Likely to Complete the Courses Required for Admission to CSU or UC
California is home to the California State University (CSU) and the University of California (UC), which educate thousands of students every year and help
them build strong futures for themselves and their communities. CSU and UC require that high school students complete certain courses, known as A-G courses, to be eligible for admission. However, California high school students do not have an equal opportunity to successfully fulfill this requirement on their pathways to higher education.