On Tuesday, leaders of California’s three public higher education segments reaffirmed their commitment to greater cooperation and integration with each other to state policymakers in Sacramento.
Janet Napolitano, president of the University of California, and Timothy White, chancellor of the California State University system, appeared together in a media briefing as part of Joint Higher Education Advocacy Day. The chancellor of the California Community Colleges, Dr. Brice Harris, was represented by a vice chancellor.
In its fifth year, Joint Higher Education Advocacy Day allows representatives from each of the three segments to talk with elected officials and policymakers about ways that the three work together to ensure student access, success and engagement, said Steve Montiel, UC spokesman.
The leaders maintained a goal of greater opportunity and mobility for students of the three segments, as well as a strong partnership between the segments themselves, Montiel said.
“A primary goal is to streamline the path from community college to CSU or UC by providing better information to students and families,” he added.
Sylvia Hurtado, director of the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA, said the partnership and cooperation between the segments is necessary in the state’s current academic and economic climate.
“More high school students seek access to higher education than before,” she said. “The demand can only be met if the three segments work together to increase the number of graduates in the state.”
Due to budget cuts, high schools have fewer counselors and therefore less time for college counseling, Hurtado said.
Yet, information can be provided in different ways, such as campus visits and more transparent websites on the part of the segments, she added.
Another major point of the briefing was the importance of public higher education to the state, with the choices made by legislators and the governor having widespread effects on the future, Montiel said.
“The most effective way to reinvigorate California’s economy is to invest in higher education,” Hurtado said. “A higher number of graduates means a more educated workforce, which is important for the state’s economic development.”