Students at California's public colleges are doing about as well or better than students at similar institutions nationally, but there is significant need to improve success. Based on the five accountability framework reports presented to the California Postsecondary Education Commission for measuring student success, this report assesses major findings and options for improving outcomes. Areas needing attention include: (1) A "four-year" college degree now takes five or six years for most full-time freshmen enrolling directly from high schools into California's public universities; (2) Most students take more than two years to earn baccalaureate degrees after transferring to public universities from community colleges; (3) Less than a third of the community college students studied by the Commission earned an AA degree, a vocational certificate or transferred to a UC or CSU campus; (4) Latino and African-American students, particularly males, are experiencing lower graduation rates; and (5) Part-time students are struggling--they are less likely to earn degrees and pay more for college than other students. The kinds of programs that need expanding or strengthening include: (1) Equal Opportunity Program (EOP) and student support services that assist students to overcome the full spectrum of educational, emotional, social and financial barriers to success; (2) Programs that reduce the financial burden on students and their families; and (3) Better connections between postsecondary education pathways for community college transfer students are also needed.
- Authorizing Institution
- California State Postsecondary Education Commission, Sacramento.
- Education Level
- Higher Education
- Location
- California
- Peer Reviewed
- F
- Publication Type
- Reports - Evaluative
- Published in
- United States of America
Table of Contents
- Based on the five accountability framework reports presented to the Commission for measuring student success this report assesses major findings and options for improving outcomes. 1
- Contents 1
- Summary of Findings 1
- Why Student Success is Important 1
- March 2007 1
- California Postsecondary Education Commission 1
- California Postsecondary Education Commission 2
- What Student Success Measures Show 2
- Measure UC CSU Time-to-Degree 2
- California Postsecondary Education Commission 3
- Measure UC CSU Full-TimePart-Time Ratio 3
- California Postsecondary Education Commission 4
- Measure UC CSU First-Year Persistence Rates 4
- Measure Two-year Degrees Certificates and Transfers by Community College Students 4
- Measure Four-Year Degrees Conferred to Community College Transfer Students 4
- California Postsecondary Education Commission 5
- Assessing Student Success and Building Upon Best Practices 5
- California Postsecondary Education Commission 6
- Conclusions and Recommendations 6
- California Postsecondary Education Commission 7
- California Postsecondary Education Commission 8
