Return to California’s winning strategy

With the Master Plan for Higher Education, developed under the leadership of then-UC President Clark Kerr in 1960, California created the global model for postsecondary education: local community colleges open to all who do the work; state universities that teach the sophisticated skills of a high-tech society; and research universities advancing knowledge to the next frontier. This system powered California, one of the world’s most successful societies, for decades — until public investment in our opportunity infrastructure began to drain away.

Today, other nations that copied California’s higher education strategy are America’s toughest competitors. A diverse new generation is coming of age in California, and this generation will support the swelling ranks of retirees. To equip California for the next decade’s challenges, we need to remember what works: higher education for a higher standard of living.

This isn’t a pie-in-the-sky proposition. If we act now, we can rescue a university system teetering on the brink . Experts say that just $4.6 billion more a year — $32 for the median California tax payer—would retore the UC, CSU and Community College systems at levels that would restore the quality — and low fees — they had in 2000-01.  (That’s also only about half the cost of cutting the Vehicle License fee.)

Policy consequences for…

Access: Admits eligible high school graduates to higher education, as specified by the 1960 Master Plan.

Affordability: Keeps higher education affordable, rewarding talent and hard work at every level.

Excellence: Makes California competitive again, from dedicated teaching to world-class research.

Accountability: Administrators will be held accountable not only for efficient management but for fulfilling the universities’ public missions.