California’s community-college system is by far the largest college system in the country, with nearly three million students. And transfer students from two-year colleges here play an unusually large role in the state system of higher education. They make up nearly half of those who graduate from Cal State or the University of California with bachelor’s degrees, and they tend to be a more diverse group than their nontransfer counterparts. For decades, regional transfer pipelines in San Jose, Sacramento, San Diego, Long Beach, and elsewhere have been central to the state’s promise of upward mobility. But California’s budget crisis has damaged those pipelines and exacerbated long-known problems with the transfer process, such as a poor statewide transfer rate and a confusing set of requirements. A landmark came in June when Cal State announced that it would reduce its total enrollment by 40,000 students, or 9 percent, forcing nearly all 23 of its campuses to essentially close admissions during the spring, when transfer students typically arrive.

Read full article [here].
by Josh Keller, The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Posted: October 5th, 2009, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.