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NATIONAL EDUCATION EXPERT SPEAKS
TO NEXT GOVERNOR: SUPPORT COMPREHENSIVE PLAN FOR PRE-KINDERGARTEN THROUGH GRADUATE
SCHOOL
San Francisco - A nationally respected higher education expert has called on the
next governor of California to take leadership in supporting a comprehensive plan
for all of California education - from pre-kindergarten through graduate school,
according to a new report released today in San Francisco where the candidates for
governor prepare for their fourth statewide televised debate on the challenges facing
California.
The report, The Challenges
Facing California Higher Education, A Memorandum to the Next Governor of California,
noted that such planning would emphasize regional collaboration among colleges, universities
and public schools. The report was written by David W. Breneman, University Professor
and Dean of the Curry School of Education of the University of Virginia.
According to Breneman, "A new California Master Plan focusing on all formal
education could lead the way for the rest of the states in the same way that California's
famous and successful 1960 Master Plan for Higher Education provided national and
international leadership. Such a plan could address concerns about linkages, collaborations
and other formal and informal relationships between colleges and surrounding public
schools."
In preparing this report, Breneman met with key state and education officials
and reviewed major reports and projections that have been made by state agencies
and independent organizations such as the California Citizens Commission on Higher
Education, RAND and the California Higher Education Policy Center. Breneman found
that California lacks an overall plan for dealing with enrollment growth despite
agreement by most state and higher education leaders on the need to plan for enrolling
one-half million new students, according to the report.
"A common concern expressed among policy and education leaders was the need
for strong state leadership in higher education," Breneman said. "Were
the next governor to minimize the distinctions among the three public segments of
higher education and, instead, focus on serving the higher education needs of geographic
regions-including
K-12 education as a full partner, one suspects that one of the significant outcomes
would be the development of a new Master Plan better suited to meet the needs of
21st century students," he said.
A report released along with the Breneman study summarized the findings of an
expert panel on California's projected enrollment growth for the next decade. Tidal
Wave II Revisited: A Review of Earlier Enrollment Projections for California Higher
Education finds a consensus among most forecasters that California must plan to
accommodate almost 540,000 additional students by 2005-06 if it is to maintain its
current policy of college opportunity for all eligible students. A three-person panel
that included Gerald C. Hayward, an expert of California public schools, Breneman,
an economist, and Leobardo F. Estrada, a demographer and UCLA professor, prepared
the report.
"Despite consensus from education leaders and state agencies on the need
to plan for a surge in enrollment numbers, there has been little discussion by the
political leadership of the state on how best to move forward," said Patrick
M. Callan, President of the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education.
"We hope that by releasing these reports right before the fourth, statewide,
televised debate tomorrow evening, it will allow for some candid discussion by the
gubernatorial candidates on how they see the future of higher education in the state
moving forward," he said.
The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education was established
in 1998 to promote the public interest regarding opportunity, affordability and quality
in American higher education. As an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization,
the National Center provides action-oriented analyses of state and federal policies
affecting education beyond high school. The National Center receives financial support
from a consortium of national philanthropic organizations, and is not affiliated
with any institution of higher education or with any government agency.
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