Higher Education

California's system of higher education brings significant value to the lives of individual citizens and the state as a whole. It performs an essential role in equipping Californians with the knowledge and skills necessary to meet the challenges of the future. Using the 1960 Master Plan for Higher Education as a guide to address tremendous pressures for educating unprecedented numbers of students, the state created the largest and most distinguished system of public higher education in the nation to develop the workforce, intellectual capital, and innovations that are integral to our economic and societal well being.

Drawing from the top 12.5 percent of the state's high school graduates, the University of California (UC) educates approximately 216,000 undergraduate and graduate students in the current year at its ten campuses and is the primary segment authorized to independently award doctoral degrees and professional degrees in law, medicine, dentistry, and veterinary medicine. Through University Extension, with a half-million enrollments annually, UC provides continuing education for Californians to improve their job skills and enhance the quality of their lives. UC manages one U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory, partners with private industry to manage two others, and operates five medical centers that support the clinical teaching programs of the university's medical and health sciences schools that handle more than three million patient visits each year.

Drawing students from the top one-third of the state's high school graduates, as well as transfer students who have successfully completed specified college work, the California State University (CSU) provides undergraduate and graduate instruction through the master's degree and independently awards doctoral degrees in education or jointly with UC or private institutions in other fields of study. With its 23 campuses and approximately 450,000 students in the current year, the CSU is the largest, most diverse, and one of the most affordable university systems in the country. The CSU plays a critical role in preparing the workforce of California; it grants more than half the state's bachelor's degrees and one-third of the state's new master's degrees. The CSU prepares more graduates in business, engineering, agriculture, communications, health, and public administration than any other California institution of higher education. It also produces nearly 60 percent of California's teachers.

The California Community Colleges (CCC) are publicly supported local education agencies that provide educational, vocational and transfer programs to approximately 2.6 million students in the current year. Constituting the largest system of higher education in the world, the California Community College system is comprised of 72 districts, 109 campuses, and 65 educational centers. The CCC advance California's economic growth and global competitiveness through education, training, and services that contribute to continuous workforce improvement. The CCC also provides remedial instruction for hundreds of thousands of adults across the state through basic skills courses and adult non-credit instruction.


ED FUND TRANSACTION
 Pursuant to Chapters 182 and 184, Statutes of 2007, the state is currently engaged in maximizing the value of the state's student loan guarantee program operated by EdFund. It is anticipated that a sale, or other authorized transaction, would occur in the current year and that another guaranty agency would be designated by the Federal Department of Education to fulfill the guarantor role for students with federal loans. It is anticipated that this transaction will generate $500 million or more in revenue to the state, without affecting services or costs to students.

The California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) administers state financial aid to students attending all segments of public and private postsecondary education. Working together with EdFund, which is the auxiliary loan guaranty agency that currently operates with oversight by CSAC, the Commission administers federal and state-authorized financial aid, including state-funded grants, work-study programs, and federally guaranteed loans. In addition to serving as California's student loan guaranty agency, EdFund serves as a guaranty agency for colleges and universities located throughout the United States.

The proposed budget was constructed first by computing the workload budget funding level. From the workload budget, adjustments are made to reflect specific policy adjustments and reductions, including budget-balancing reductions. With these adjustments, the Governor's Budget provides close to $11.7 billion from the General Fund alone for Higher Education in 2008-09. Change Table HED-01 illustrates the major changes proposed to Higher Education spending in the Governor's Budget, inclusive of infrastructure, debt service, and stem cell research.


WORKLOAD BUDGET
  • A workload budget reflects what a given progam will cost next year under existing law and policy.
  • Government Code Section 13308.05 defines workload budget as the budget year cost of currently authorized services, adjusted for changes in enrollment, caseload, or population, and other factors including inflation, one-time expenditures, federal and court-ordered mandates.
CHAPTER HIGHLIGHTS for Higher Education Back to Top

 Proposed Workload Budget
 Proposed Budget Balancing Reductions
 Other Budget Reductions
 Special Session Issues
 Funding by Segment for 2008-09
 Program Enhancements and Other Budget Adjustments
PRINTABLE BUDGET DOCUMENTS Back to Top
Budget Summary - Higher Education (pdf * - 520K) -
Provides this entire Higher Education Chapter in pdf format.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Back to Top
Proposed Budget Detail - Higher Education
Displays Proposed Budget Detail information for Higher Education.