The problem, according to Youngblood, is who isn’t eligible: part-time students, who make up more than two thirds of the community college population. While research shows students taking 12 units or more per semester are more likely to earn a degree or certificate, Youngblood says many low-income students are simply too busy working to handle […]
To show the importance of acting quickly, the report to the Legislature will have a calculation of where CalSTRS funding would be if the rate increases enacted in 2014 had been promptly adopted after the 2008-09 financial crisis. “If we had been able to raise the rates, we would now be about 70 percent funded […]
The SWAG Program has a funding stream that has been missing. There are 39,000 small manufacturers in California who have 20 or less employees and employers don’t have the resources or the time to invest in an apprenticeship program. But investments by the California Community Colleges and its Strong Workforce Program, as well as other […]
For the first time in 15 years, the number of would-be freshmen applying to the University of California has dropped, the first sign that a national trend of declining college enrollment could be hitting the West Coast. Applications for the coming school year dipped by 3% to 176,530, according to preliminary UC data released Tuesday. […]
San Francisco has more drug addicts than it has students enrolled in its public high schools, the city Health Department’s latest estimates conclude. There are about 24,500 injection drug users in San Francisco — that’s about 8,500 more people than the nearly 16,000 students enrolled in San Francisco Unified School District’s 15 high schools and […]
The Sacramento City Unified School District is grappling with a significant budget shortfall — and its bond rating also hit a low point this week. Rating agency Standard and Poor’s dropped the district’s general obligation bond rating to “BBB,” which the district wrote in a statement is “the lowest investment bond rating.” The bottoming-out of […]
Chief Executive Officer Marcie Frost told the board investment returns were negative 3.9 percent last year but over the last 10 years averaged 7.9 percent, still above the current earnings target of 7 percent. The new chief investment officer, Ben Meng, who began work this month, told the board the projected funding level was “around […]
The union that represents teachers in the state’s largest school district, Los Angeles Unified, is claiming that its six-day strike produced a victory, and local media are echoing that line. It may be, however, a pyrrhic victory because it could drive LA Unified, which is already in a deep financial hole, mostly of its own […]
Is a robot coming for your job? That is more likely if you live in Riverside, San Bernardino, Merced or Modesto, according to a report released Thursday by the Brookings Institution. If you’re in San Francisco or San Jose, you have a better chance of weathering a coming onslaught of automation and artificial intelligence. The […]
Los Angeles teachers returned to work Wednesday after contentious negotiations ended with a new contract and a commitment by the union and the district to work together to get more state money for schools in part by pushing to overhaul California’s property tax system. Teachers greeted students with smiles, hugs and high-fives after voting the […]
California State University is poised to enroll thousands more Californians and step up support to help them graduate sooner, thanks to a hefty increase in state funding proposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom. Cal State trustees will take their first collective look at the governor’s 2019-20 budget proposal and discuss plans to improve student success at […]
The Federal Reserve has linked rising student debt to a drop in homeownership among young Americans and the flight of college graduates from rural areas, two big shifts that have helped reshape the U.S. economy. The effect of student debt on the economy has been debated in recent years, as the total has soared to […]
Advanced manufacturing is exploding across the Bay Area, with about 650 companies using 3-D printers and computer-controlled machines to produce everything from robots to eyeglasses to drones to backpacks. But for most residents the fast-growing sector — and the skills needed to join its workforce — remain a mystery. Now San Francisco Mayor London Breed […]
But doesn’t a college education help lift the prospects of poor students who attend? Sometimes, said Mr. Vedder, but you have to graduate first. “Forty percent of our kids who go to college don’t graduate. We have a tremendous dropout rate, much bigger than the high-school dropout rate. These kids are saddled with a certain […]
California’s community college system has already implemented reforms to improve its performance, including an overhaul of its student placement system and improved course and career guidance for incoming students. These changes are expected to improve completion rates for students seeking a two-year degree. But far too many community college students are still struggling to transfer […]