SUMMARY OF OUTCOMES

Community Policy Forum: Evergreen Valley College, San Jose, September 28, 2009

Participants at the Evergreen Forum discussed the outcomes generated by participants at previous events, and responded to the question: "What issues should the Legislature focus on to ensure that higher education will continue to thrive in California?"

The responses fell into 5 distinct categories, with issues and recommendations within each category:

Reawakening the public to the value of investing in our children and higher education
-Change our values and vision to reflect that "every child is a state treasure."
-Make education a top priority for our state;
-Revisit the percentages of students accepted in higher education institutions;
-Get the public better information about the severity of the situation for public education

Committing to student access and affordability
-Ensure access, affordability and accountability
-Create more predictable and equitable tuition increase policies and standards
-Provide sufficient resources and financial aid to make access authentic.
-Cost should not be a barrier to higher education attainment

Recognizing the need for cultural competence and embracing California's diversity
-Recognize new and changing demographics, cultural differences and values
-Ensure access regardless of immigration status
-The Master Plan should reflect the diversity of the state
-Provide diversity training

Providing student services and support, along with comprehensive, high-quality educator training
-Clear pipeline and articulation for K-16 students
-Strengthen student and teacher relationships to promote success; more mentorship opportunities
-Improve teacher training and quality at the K-12 level
-Provide cohesiveness in schoolwide and system wide training

Working towards structural reform of California government
-Reform California governance and decision making
-Ensure that there are enough resources to educate our state's population in its current and future capacity
-Find a stable source of revenue for the state
-9.9% oil severance tax (dedicated to education?)

Community Policy Forum: UCLA, April 7, 2009

Roadblocks to Educational Access
Participants ranked the following as the biggest roadblocks to educational access:
#1: Lack of academic preparation prior to college
#2: Lack of readily available funding and financial aid to supplement rising costs
#3: High and unpredictable increasing fees and cost of living
#4: Lack of timely Information about the applications and admissions process

Other high-priority roadblocks include:
-Students with undocumented status
-Lack of space and capacity - do we really have more students than there are spaces and resources to accommodate them?
-Lack of counseling to help students combined with a lack of transparency in the application process and decisions
-Family issues
-EOP funding cuts
-Lack of access to A-G courses in high school
-Time/availability of courses for non-traditional students
-Community college transfer issues
-Lack of support from elected officials in making higher education a high priority
-Middle income families are having more financial difficulties saving for college
-Lack of culturally-relevant support services
-Low completion rates once students are accepted
-Competitiveness
-Veterans returning from war

Opportunity and Achievement Gaps
Participants identified a number of student populations that experience greater roadblocks to academic and educational access and success, including:
-Students who attend lower performing K-12 public schools versus higher performing public and private schools
-Students from low-income urban and rural areas without stable economic households
-First generation college students whose families are not familiar with the requirements and applications process for college
-New immigrants
-AB 540 (undocumented) students
-English learners
-Incarcerated youth
-Foster youth
-Students with physical and learning disabilities

Participants identified the following strategies and policy changes to support students from disadvantaged backgrounds to overcome or eliminate these roadblocks, including:

Funding Policies
-Create fee policies where fee increases are limited and predictable
-Simplify the FAFSA and offer greater financial aid to low and middle-income students and families
-Institute a needs-based funding structure
-Designate funding for academic preparation programs to ensure a better quality K-12 education and college preparation for all students
-Changing or reforming Proposition 13 and property tax and public school funding structures and policies to ensure equitable and adequate funding for schools

Recruitment and Retention Strategies
-Create community-based resource networks to help underrepresented students apply to college
-Allow outreach to specific underrepresented populations, including new immigrants
-Create more support programs once students are accepted to improve retention and graduation rates

K-12 Strategies
-Fund the creation of a diverse and culturally-relevant K-12 curriculum, and recruit teachers from diverse backgrounds
-Align A-G and high school graduation requirements

College/university-Level Policy Recommendations
-Allow for a holistic admissions review
-Subsidize childcare to help student parents to matriculate
-Integrate disabled student services

Roadblocks to Educational Success
Participants ranked the following as the greatest roadblocks to education success:
#1: Insufficient academic preparation and skills
#2: Lack of advising, counseling, guidance and mentorship
#3: Lack of knowledge and information about the expectations
#4: Challenging home life
#5: Lack of resources and modern updates in classrooms and learning facilities, as well as classroom overcrowding
#6: Reduced time for teacher engagement with students

Other identified roadblocks to education success:
-Students having to work excessively to afford school and living expenses
-Lack of networking and mentorship programs to support students
-Lack of confidence that the money and professional opportunities will be there even if the student does everything right, both in preparation for and during college
-Decreased funding for outreach and retention programs
-Negative campus climate (racial discrimination, etc.)
-Lack of understanding of time management strategies
-Lack of resources to help students who have remedial levels of writing and for intensive Summer Bridge Programs
-Lack of on-campus extracurricular involvement

Currently Existing Successful Programs
-Academic preparation programs where high school students take college courses the summer before entering
-Early Academic Outreach Programs/Trio/Academic Advancement Programs
-Student-led Recruitment and Retention centers
-Small learning communities and tutoring programs and institutionalized study networks managed by the campus
-Smaller class sizes that allow more personalized attention
-CalCorps and service learning programs or project-based community service programs that emphasize leadership development and civic engagement
-Peer counseling programs
-Career Center and Career Fairs
-Financial Aid Office services
-Mentorship programs (especially with transfer students)
-IGETC/Transfer Efficiency Programs
-Work study programs
-Alumni Networks
-English as a Second Language Courses

Other high-Priority Education Issues
-Tenured professors who care little about students
-A lack of encouragement for teaching careers
-Increase accountability for higher education appointees and systems
-Change the public's perception of education as individual achievement, not a public good (increase awareness)
-Upgrading the status and perception of technical degrees; not everyone needs a 4-year degree, but our society does need electricians, plumbers, auto mechanics, etc.
-Taking into consideration living conditions and other "home" factors that affect success
-Mental health programs
-More and better partnerships between K-12 schools, Community Colleges and CSUs and UCs
-More applicability in academics to real world needs and experiences
-Need to emphasize more community and civic engagement

Does College adequately prepare students to enter into the workforce and link them to sufficient professional opportunities?

Participant responses:
The purpose of a college education is not career training. A college education mostly prepares students for graduate school. Many courses are not directly career-oriented. To make the college experience align closer to professional opportunities after graduation, we must develop better networks to connect current students to professional opportunities, which tend to be easier to do at a private school than at large public schools. Even so, college does teach critical thinking and communication skills, as well as understanding diversity and other intellectual skills.

We must also raise awareness of career opportunity programs and offer career guidance to students by funding our Career Centers better and offering stronger mentorship programs and better internship or service learning opportunities, making these programs a requirement for college graduation.

Community Policy Forum: UC Berkeley, March 17, 2009

Data, Outcomes and Participant Priorities

Roadblocks to Educational Access
Participants ranked the following as the biggest roadblocks to educational access:
1. Lack of academic preparation prior to college
2. Lack of readily available funding and financial aid to supplement rising costs
3. High and unpredictable increasing fees and cost of living
4. Lack of timely Information about the applications and admissions process

Other high-priority roadblocks include:
-Unfair admissions policies and too much reliance on culturally biased standardized tests
-Lack of student mentorship and advising before and during college
-Lack of accurate statistics and studies of ethnic/racial groups to assess curriculum and different learning styles and needs
-Lack of state funding and support overall

Opportunity and Achievement Gaps
Participants identified a number of student populations that experience greater roadblocks to academic and educational access and success, including:
-Students from low-income urban areas without stable economic households
-First generation college students whose families are not familiar with the requirements and applications process for college
-New immigrants
-AB 540 (undocumented) students
-English learners
-Incarcerated youth
-Students with learning disabilities
-Students from rural communities

Participants listed strategies and policy changes to support students from disadvantaged backgrounds to overcome or eliminate these roadblocks, including:

Possible Policy Changes to Overcome Opportunity and Achievement Gaps
-Changing or reforming Proposition 13 and property tax and public school funding structures and policies to ensure equitable and adequate funding for schools
-Re-define poverty levels and offer more social services where they are needed
-Reverse the No Child Left Behind policy, which has proven to be detrimental to historically disadvantaged students, especially English learners
-Increase teacher pay in low-income neighborhood schools to incentivize good teachers to stay
-Offer more flexibility to schools in low-income neighborhoods on how they spend their funding
-Offer greater financial aid to low-income students and families
-Create a state requirement for college application process with an option to opt out if you demonstrate proper knowledge of the consequences
-Repeal Proposition 209
-Offer continued academic support once students are admitted to colleges and universities
-Offer secured jobs after graduation so students have clear career pathways
-Disaggregate data for Asian American sub-groups so that funding can be targeted to populations that need it most
-Offer better language access for English learners
-Emphasize importance of STEM education and offer academic assistance in these subjects
-Offer more access to Early Education programs like "First 5 California"
-Create more opportunities to participate in the legislative process so that decision-makers have more input from the public

Roadblocks to Educational Success
Participants ranked the following as the greatest roadblocks to education success:
1. Insufficient academic preparation and skills
2. Lack of advising, counseling, guidance and mentorship
3. Lack of knowledge and information about the expectations
4. Lack of resources and modern updates in classrooms and learning facilities, as well as classroom overcrowding
5. Challenging home life
6. Reduced time for teacher engagement with students

Other identified roadblocks to education success:
-Lack of quality teacher preparation and training
-Lack of incentives and support for teachers who address different learning styles and learning disabilities
-Students not having access to the necessary and timely sequences of courses
-Misalignment of community college coursework and admissions requirements for UC and CSU
-Lack of culturally relevant retention programs for students
-Challenging street life (between home and school)
-Financial concerns - unpredictably increasing fees and lack of financial aid

Currently Existing Successful Programs
-Mentorship programs
-Student-led Recruitment and Retention programs
-Early Academic Outreach Programs/Trio programs
-CalCorps and service learning programs or project-based community service programs
-Academic preparation programs for high school students take college courses the summer before entering
-Small learning communities and tutoring programs and institutionalized study networks managed by the school
-Work study programs
-Debt forgiveness programs that help students pay off debt after college if they enter into public service
-Fellowship and internship programs targeted at underrepresented populations
-Counseling and student mental health programs
-Culturally sensitive and relevant support programs
-Early learning programs (Headstart, Pre-kindergarten)
-Testing for learning disabilities and developing strategies to address them

Does a college education prepare you to enter the workforce?
Particpants were asked whether college adequately prepare students to enter into the workforce and link them to sufficient professional opportunities after, and responded with the following:

Currently, a student's workforce preparation level depends on what major the student chooses (liberal arts majors often do not have built-in professional opportunities), and the individual student's marketability, skill set value and level of entrepreneurship. Schools should host more seminars on job-seeking skills and interview workshops.

Also, there is little real world application and applicability from coursework, and we need to have better links to paid internships, externships, and opportunities to professional opportunities. The college experience should include more opportunities for leadership development. Currently, there are not enough life skills and practical knowledge taught in college.

Moreover, a college education shouldn't solely prepare students for the workforce-it needs to prepare students to be active, engaged citizens who think critically and creatively through volunteering and community service opportunities.

Other high-Priority Education Issues
-Tax reform and public funding priorities
-Equity and outreach to underrepresented populations
-P-12 preparation for college
-Framing continuum of public education as a full-picture public good. Not fragmented systems for Pre-K, K-12, Community College, CSU, UC, private schools, etc.
-Relevance of college experience to real world
-Reforming underperforming schools
-Addressing the Challenges of Proposition 209
-Community formations
-Cultural variety/diversity
-Make A-G requirements a requirement for all high schools students
-The role of colleges and universities in promoting community-wide discussions on values

Community Policy Forum: Sacramento State University, November 20, 2008

ACCESS ROADBLOCKS

Student identified - High Priority

High and unpredictably increasing fees

Increasing cost of living

Lack of readily available funding and financial aid to supplement these rising costs

Lack of academic preparation prior to college

Lack of timely information about the applications and admission process

Faculty identified - High Priority

Lack of information and availability of financial aid and resources

High and increasing fees

Lack of information and availability of financial aid and resources

SUCCESS ROADBLOCKS

Student Identified - High Priority

Challenging home life

Lack of resources and modern updates in classrooms and learning facilities, and overcrowding in classes

Reduced time for teacher engagement with students

Lack of advising, counseling, guidance and mentorship

Lack of knowledge and information about the expectations

Insufficient academic preparation and skills

Other Concerns Regarding Access and Success

Miscommunication between community colleges and CSU for transfer students

Families without knowledge to support and help first time students navigate the process

Lack of community/cultural support and involvement in education and a general apathetic attitude towards education in surrounding people and communities

Lack of access to professional programs at the doctoral level at the CSU

OUTSTANDING EXISTING PROGRAMS

Student and Faculty-Identified Programs

Learning communities, such as the Honors Program, Pace Program, CAMP Program

Education Opportunity Program (EOP)

Student peer tutorial and mentorship programs

Student Recruitment and Retention Centers

Cross/Inter-Cultural Centers

Early Assessment Program

Bridge Programs

Remediation

Outreach and marketing of existing programs

Endowments and scholarships

EXISTING PROGRAMS NEEDING IMPROVEMENT

Student-Identified Programs in Need of Improvement - High Priority

Advising and counseling services (including financial aid counseling)

Academic preparation at the K-12 level, including Teacher Credentialing Process

HIGH PRIORITY ISSUES

Student-Identified High Priority Issues

Improving K-12 education

Include more spots for students

Address processes for better outreach

Lay out the education standards for high schools and community colleges that send students to 4-year institutions.

Faculty-Identified High Priority Issues

Better access

Better counseling services

Necessity of vocational education coursework

POLICY RECOMMENDATION : Include academic preparation and outreach in Master Plan for Higher Education
Rationale

• K-12 education plays a foundational Role in establishing students' attitudes toward education
K-12 education establishes healthy relationships, trust and communication between students and educators

• K-12 education provides a safe and supportive learning environment for students
Students cannot be successful in college without being adequately prepared by their K-12 education
We must encourage and facilitate community and parental involvement in supporting student success

We must have tools to help parents help their children to succeed in high school and beyond

To get involved or to help organize a community policy forum on your campus, please contact Irene Wan at irene@politicsoftrust.net.