LAO releases...

California's Higher Education System:
Assessing California's Master Plan

A new series of reports from the Legislative Analyst’s Office seeks to inform California’s Legislature about the latest issues in higher education funding and policy.  This report provides an overview of the series and a comparison between the original Master Plan and our current state of affairs.

The 1960 Master Plan began as a basic framework for California’s higher education system and evolved into an amalgamation of both written and unwritten policies and goals embraced by the state.  The 1960 Donahoe Higher Education Act placed many of these policies into statute, while many other significant aspects of the Plan continued to serve as mere guidelines for policymakers.  As such, numerous reviews of the Plan over the years yielded hundreds of recommendations but relatively few changes to the code.

A direct result of this ambiguity is the current unfocused nature of education policy-making.  Lacking the clear focus of statutory mandates, policies have been piecemealed together, addressing only the most prevalent issues in the most expedient manner.  Broader, long-term educational objectives continue to suffer from this lack of focus.

The LAO recommends a reexamination of our higher education needs and priorities, with a goal of renewing the state’s vision.  Three broad categories are given special attention: Participation and Learning, Governance and Organization, and Funding.
Subsequent reports will drill into each of these categories, with the ultimate goal of guiding the Legislature and others to improve higher education policy and planning.

To read the full report, please follow this link: http://lao.ca.gov/laoapp/PubDetails.aspx?id=2141.