UC, CSU graduates start at two-year schools, report says
Sacramento Bee 3/20/07
State Sen. Jack Scott, chairman of the Senate Education Committee, hailed the report, released in time for consideration in state budget hearings, as "largely encouraging in terms of bang for the buck."
The report was released by California Community College Chancellor Mark Drummond, Vice Chancellor Patrick Perry, Scott, state Sen. George Runner, R-Lancaster, and various community college officials.
The accountability report, totaling hundreds of pages and required by legislation passed in 2004, covers a system of 109 community colleges serving 2.5 million students.
Key findings included:
• More than one-third of the state's 18- and 19-year-olds are enrolled in a community college.
• Median income of community college students who completed their degrees or vocational certificates nearly tripled - from $17,000 per year to $49,500 per year - over a five-year period that began before they enrolled.
• 45.3 percent of graduates from the University of California and California State University systems transferred from a community college.
• By 2013, an additional 600,000 students will seek higher education in California - and 80 percent of them are projected to enroll in community colleges.
The report did not address several key issues, however, including student performance by ethnicity and the extent to which fee increases have affected access or achievement.
The report also drew no conclusions about budget increases that may be needed to handle the projected enrollment boom.
The report is available at www.cccco.edu.