An Interview on California Higher Education with Dr. C. Judson King
07/30/10

Dr. Jud King is director of the Center for Studies in Higher Education and professor emeritus of chemical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. I am also grateful to Dr. John Aubrey Douglass, Senior Research Fellow, and author of The California Idea and American Higher Education. Drs. King and Douglass are coauthors of Globalization's Muse: Universities and Higher Education Systems in a Changing World. It should be noted that these are not simple questions, and thus, in taking the time to answer them, Dr. King is a true gentleman.

HA: It is well known that California has become the nation's first majority minority state. As the state is attempting to adjust to the varied cultures at play, do you think this immersion into diversity will ultimately place California at the forefront of higher education inclusiveness in both enrollment and critical thinking?

JK: With regard to critical thinking, yes. Gaining effective inclusiveness is a very challenging problem, however, and it is not yet evident how it will be achieved ultimately. Issues include poor school systems in areas of high minority concentration and cultural differences. The University of California (UC) and the California State University (CSU) have both done major work with schools addressing this need. There has been some success, but it is limited. Yes, over a long period of time true inclusiveness and equality of opportunity will be achieved, but I see no way to predict whether that will be 20 years, 50 years, or longer yet. California may yet be the first to achieve it, but the difficulty is very great.

HA: California has a tripartite public higher education system, with UC, CSU, and the community colleges. Do you consider this to be effective? Or, similarly, where do you see strengths or weaknesses in this arrangement?

JK: The California Master Plan establishes the roles of these three systems and specifies the extent to which transfer education - students starting at a community college and finishing a 4-year degree at UC or CSU - should occur. The Master Plan has been enormously successful. Even though the affordability provisions no longer hold in the original way, the other aspects of the Master Plan remain appropriate and are a key strength of California higher education. One benefit is cost control resulting from specifying the differing missions of the three systems. A second advantage is a clear path for transfer, and the resultant second-chance route for a 4-year degree. A third benefit is the resultant ability of the University of California to become a major driving force for economic and social innovation and growth.

HA: California institutions of higher education, like most others across the nation, are struggling with the privatization issue, whereas colleges and universities are receiving less and less governmental funding, and in turn seek more autonomy from government regulations. Do you see this trend continuing? Is there an optimal level of governmental intervention and funding versus autonomy and philanthropy?

JK: Virginia, and secondarily, Michigan, are situations where more autonomy from state control has been negotiated. The extent to which it has actually been achieved is debatable, however. Such negotiations have not yet occurred in California and they may not occur any time soon. The California situation is different in that access to UC and CSU is enormously prized, and thus there is little likelihood of state government lessening its role. Yes, I fear that the trend toward less state support of higher education will continue, due to pressures on state governments. Increased federal funding of public higher education is a possibility, as are continued efforts to gain private support from diverse sources. One can say that higher education is both a private benefit - enhancing one's earning power and enjoyment of life - and a public benefit - enhancing the economy and societal progress in general. One approach is to try to define the balance between those aspects and set the balance between tuition and fees, and governmental funding accordingly. Some have tried to say that tuition and fees should cover about 40 percent of the per-student cost of public higher education, and government the rest.

HA: Community colleges are critical to the residents of California, especially low income and academically unprepared college students. With the post-1970s decrease in funding, supplemented by much less funding than expected from the ARRA, how do you see the community college system adjusting to the explosion of students, which ultimately equates to reduced spending per pupil?

JK: The community college is very non-uniform. Because more of the funding comes locally, the community colleges range broadly from well-to-do - in the wealthier areas - to impecunious - rural and inner-city. For the next decade there is not an explosion of students; demographics will make enrollment demand relatively flat throughout California higher education. Therefore the decade will be one of adjustment to new circumstances. There will probably be more funding of community colleges by local bond issues, accentuating the issue of very different resources from one district to another.

HA: Can you expand on your view that enrollment will remain relatively flat in the next decade?

JK: There has, during the period of about 2000 to 2012, been a marked surge in the 18-year-old population reflecting Tidal Wave II, the children of the post-WWII baby boomers. That surge ceases as of about 2012, and then remains flat until around 2020 when Tidal Wave III - the grandchildren - arrives. Demographic projections for California are given in Reference 9 of a paper which I wrote a few years ago on alternatives for gaining capacity in UC.

A higher percentage of 18-year-olds wanting to go to college because of the economic situation could be a trend on top of the demographic trends.

HA: Many students arrive at community colleges academically unprepared for the next level. As the community college system is already under an enormous amount of stress, how can the postsecondary education system in California work to lessen the amount of remedial courses that students have to take? Should the colleges be actively involved in the secondary schools?

JK: UC and CSU have been heavily involved in secondary schools, in part because UC and CSU are where the Schools of Education and teacher training reside. However, the improvement of schools is a highly multi-dimensional problem. It may be so hard to fix the K-12 schools system that the more achievable approach may be adjusting the higher education system to encompass more remedial education. Because of taking just the upper 12.5 percent, UC is not much beset by this problem. CSU is, and the community colleges are.

HA: Thank you for your time and shared knowledge.

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An Interview on California Higher Education with Dr. C. Judson King
07/30/10

Current Projects

On My Mind

Revolving Library

Contact

An Interview on California Higher Education with Dr. C. Judson King 07/30/10

An Interview on California Higher Education with Dr. C. Judson King
07/30/10