State urged to form strategy to produce needed college degrees

State urged to form strategy to produce needed college degrees

By Erica Perez

Experts warn that California needs to significantly boost the number of undergraduate degrees granted each year in order to turn around the state’s economy and help the country remain competitive.

But a new report [PDF] from Sacramento State University’s Institute for Higher Education Leadership & Policy says the state’s public higher education segments are not on track to meet that goal.

Also, the report finds the UC, CSU and community colleges have no guidance on how to divide increasingly precious state resources among themselves to produce the necessary degrees.

The report insists California needs a more deliberate strategy, rather than the current approach to education finance policy, which involves keeping costs in line with what they’ve always been, cutting spending around the edges and raising revenue from other sources – mostly tuition.

California Watch