This is the first comprehensive and contemporary history of the largest and most diverse public system of higher education in the United States. Serving over 2 million students annually—approximately one-quarter of the nation's community college undergraduates—California’s 116 community colleges play an indispensable role in career and transfer education in North America and have maintained an outsized influence on the evolution of postsecondary education nationally. A College for All Californians chronicles the sector's emergence from K–12 institutions, its evolving mission and growth following World War II and the G.I. Bill For Education, the expansion of its ever-broadening mission, and its essential role in the 1960 Master Plan for Higher Education. Chapters cover California’s junior and community colleges’ development, mission, governance, faculty, finances, athletics, student support services, and more. It also examines the successes and ongoing political, financial, and educational challenges confronting this uniquely American educational experiment. Book Features: Encapsulates the evolution and contemporary status of our nation’s largest and most diverse undergraduate education system.Examines how the colleges were influenced by the political, economic, and social issues of the day.Includes new historical information affecting postsecondary education in California.Analyzes some of the most important current and emerging issues that will continue to influence California’s community colleges. Contributors: Carlos O. Turner Cortez, Michelle Fischthal, Jonathan Lightman, Jessica Luedtke, David W. Morse, Joe Newmyer, Mark Robinson, Leslie M. Salas.

This is the first comprehensive and contemporary history of the largest and most diverse public system of higher education in the United States. Serving over 2 million students annually--approximately one-quarter of the nation's community college undergraduates--California's 116 community colleges play an indispensable role in career and transfer education in North America and have maintained an outsized influence on the evolution of postsecondary education nationally. A College for All Californians chronicles the sector's emergence from K-12 institutions, its evolving mission and growth following World War II and the G.I. Bill For Education, the expansion of its ever-broadening mission, and its essential role in the 1960 Master Plan for Higher Education. Chapters cover California's junior and community colleges' development, mission, governance, faculty, finances, athletics, student support services, and more. It also examines the successes and ongoing political, financial, and educational challenges confronting this uniquely American educational experiment. Book Features: Encapsulates the evolution and contemporary status of our nation's largest and most diverse undergraduate education system. Examines how the colleges were influenced by the political, economic, and social issues of the day. Includes new historical information affecting postsecondary education in California. Analyzes some of the most important current and emerging issues that will continue to influence California's community colleges.

Throughout the twentieth century, public universities were established across the United States at a dizzying pace, transforming the scope and purpose of American higher education. Leading the way was California, with its internationally renowned network of public colleges and universities. This book is the first comprehensive history of California's pioneering efforts to create an expansive and high-quality system of public higher education. The author traces the social, political, and economic forces that established and funded an innovative, uniquely tiered, and geographically dispersed network of public campuses in California. This influential model for higher education, "The California Idea," created an organizational structure that combined the promise of broad access to public higher education with a desire to develop institutions of high academic quality. Following the story from early statehood through to the politics and economic forces that eventually resulted in the 1960 California Master Plan for Higher Education, The California Idea and American Higher Education offers a carefully crafted history of public higher education.

"California Crackup is brilliant. It cuts through the familiar tangle of diagnoses and quick-fix solutions to provide a comprehensive and persuasive analysis of California's dysfunctional governmental system. Paul and Mathews have coolly laid out a complicated story, made it readable, sometimes even comedic. It is the best discussion of the issue I've seen in over three decades."--Peter Schrag, author of California: America's High-Stakes Experiment "I know of no other work that combines so succinctly and enjoyably a historical summary of California's existing problems with such a sweeping and provocative program of reform."--Ethan Rarick, University of California, Berkeley "Mark Paul and Joe Mathews have produced an indispensable guide to California's crisis of governance--and they have done so with humor, scholarship, fairness and storytelling verve. Every Californian should read this book."--Steve Coll, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Ghost Wars "Mark Paul... has a talent for presenting California Big Think stuff in an easily accessible and always readable way...[offering] clear and creative insights on the subject of California's collapse."--CalBuzz "Joe Mathews has done an artful, fascinating, and convincing job of connecting the California of today's Schwarzenegger era to the long history that made his rise possible.--James Fallows,The Atlantic Monthly on Mathews' book, The People's Machine

Previously published as part of The Insider's Guide to the Colleges, 2011. For more than thirty-five years, The Insider's Guide to the Colleges has been the favorite resource of high school students across the country because it is the only comprehensive college reference researched and written by students for students. In interviews with hundreds of peers on campuses, our writers have sought out the inside scoop at every school on everything from the nightlife and professors to the newest dorms and wildest student organizations. Now, we've compiled these in-depth profiles of colleges life for California colleges, full of Essential statistics for every school, from acceptance rates to the most popular majors, FYI sections with student opinions, outrageous off-the-cuff advice and more! The Insider's Guide to the Colleges of California cuts through the piles of brochures to get to the things that matter most to students, and by staying on top of trends and attitudes it delivers the straight talk students and parents need to choose the school that's the best fit.

Californians can earn college degrees or certificates or get job-related training at a variety of institutions both public and private, throughout the state. The variety of institutions, programs, degrees and other educational choices is wide. This Guide will help individuals identify options that suit their needs. This guide is divided into three parts designed for locating information about higher education in a number of ways. Part I lists the names of the campuses individuals are considering attending. All of California's degree-granting colleges and universities are described and listed in alphabetical order under the following six categories: (1) California Community Colleges; (2) The California State University; (3) University of California; (4) Other Public Institutions; (5) Independent Colleges and Universities; and (6) Private State-Approved and Exempt Institutions. Part II contains specific programs--such as Journalism or Computer Engineering. Institutions that offer each program are listed under that heading. Part III is an index. Individuals can use this section to locate schools, programs, towns with campuses, military bases with off-campus centers, and virtually any other topic covered in this Guide.

Prospective college students and their parents have been relying on Loren Pope's expertise since 1995, when he published the first edition of this indispensable guide. This new edition profiles 41 colleges—all of which outdo the Ivies and research universities in producing performers, not only among A students but also among those who get Bs and Cs. Contents include: Evaluations of each school's program and "personality" Candid assessments by students, professors, and deans Information on the progress of graduates This new edition not only revisits schools listed in previous volumes to give readers a comprehensive assessment, it also addresses such issues as homeschooling, learning disabilities, and single-sex education.

This charming and fun book provides helpful information to new California Community College students. It covers such things as picking the right classes, transferring to universities, saving money on textbooks and applying for financial aid, scholarships and fee waivers. It also offers some tips on how to be most successful in college courses. Some of the information is tailored specifically to novice California Community College students, but much of the information could be useful to all novice college students across the United States.

Resolution 13.04, "A Document in Support of an Academic Culture," adopted at the Fall 2007 plenary session, asked the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (Academic Senate) to "create a document that sets out the basic elements of a higher education institution, particularly within California's community college system." Addressing this resolution prompts a wider reflection on the role of educational institutions within their historical and social contexts. Describing the elements of a higher education institution also prompts a discussion of similarities and differences between California's community colleges and K-12 institutions on the one hand, and California's public baccalaureate-granting entities on the other. While this paper makes no new recommendations, it makes explicit the assumptions that underlie a range of existing Academic Senate positions, resolutions, and recommendations in a broader context than has sometimes been the case. This broader context is especially relevant given the ongoing need of modern societies for an educated and highly skilled citizenry in spite of boom and bust economic cycles incapable of supporting all levels of education consistently. The issues addressed in this paper are also relevant to ongoing debates about "standards-based" and "outcomes-based" education and the fear that calls for accountability and external oversight of higher education suggest an ultimate goal of standardizing higher education curriculum and its delivery. Appended are: (1) Seven Selected Academic Senate Papers; and (2) Selected Political Landmarks. (Contains 19 footnotes.).