Women's City Club, Pasadena
February 4, 2016

Video is here

A large crowd of members and guests gathered on February 4 for breakfast, before hearing from an outstanding panel of college leaders.  A few of the interesting points discussed by the panel were:

• Community college enrollments have grown explosively since the Master Plan for Higher Education was initiated in 1960
• 70–90 percent of incoming community college students need remedial classes before starting college work.
• Students who transfer from community colleges have a higher rate of degree completion than those who start at CSU or UC schools.
• Due to “ballot box budgeting” 85 percent of the state budget is consumed by funding formulas such as prisons, courts, and government operations. The remaining 15 percent is where budget cuts occur, including drastic cuts for higher education in recent years. Funding is coming back but remains a major issue.
• For every $1 invested in higher education the state receives $6 in productivity of college graduates.
• Although the Higher Education Commission designed to provide coordination among community colleges, state universities, and University of California was disbanded, the segments are now collaborating more closely than before.