Education
California boosts spending to help students earn math and science degrees
A program for low-income, first-generation STEM students at community colleges is receiving millions of dollars to expand across the state.
A California university is cutting ties with the Border Patrol after student outcry
Following a CalMatters investigation, students and faculty at UC San Diego protested against campus police for collaborating with Border Patrol through a federal grant program. The university will stop participating in the program and aiding patrols, sources and internal documents confirm.
They once taught about a hero. Now faculty rethink César Chávez lessons after allegations
Some faculty have dedicated their careers to researching César Chávez’s life, legacy and labor movement leadership. Following the New York Times’ investigation that revealed a long pattern of Chávez sexually abusing women and girls, college faculty across California are evaluating their research and curriculum about California’s farmworker movements.
California colleges reveal their military weapons stockpile after CalMatters investigation
According to state law, campus police can own military weapons to uphold safety as long as they report it to the public. However, not every college follows every part of the law, according to an investigation by CalMatters into all 148 public colleges and universities in California.
How student journalists can report on the military weapons on your campus
The College Journalism Network at CalMatters investigated how public campuses throughout California were complying with a state law that requires transparency about military equipment. This guide is for student journalists to investigate their own campuses.
Jennifer Burger
Editor
Michael Lozano
Assistant Editor
Dylan Arreola
UC Berkeley
Sterling Davies
Stanford University
Noelle Doblado
Cal Poly Humboldt
Mariam Farag
UC Irvine
Aaron Friesen
Riverside City College
Max Guerra
UC Santa Cruz
Jackson Mills
USC
Natalia Mochernak
UCLA
Tom Nolan
Cal State Monterey Bay
Skylar Stock
Cal State Long Beach
Anahid Valencia
Fresno State
Nikki Yunker
El Camino College
Education
They conquered gloom and Zoom: 2024 college grads on what comes next
Five college graduates reflect on their unique college experience and look forward to their early career plans.
College Beat
Black leaders provide roadmap to reparations in California
Panelists discuss the importance of acknowledging and apologizing for California’s racist policies during CalMatters’ Ideas Festival.
Higher Education
Raising kids in California? They may have college savings accounts you don’t know about.
The state is directly investing money for low-income students and all newborns to attend college. After two years, the program is still not widely known by the students who need the most financial assistance.
Higher Education
Hispanic Serving Institutions rely on federal funding to support Latino students. What happens when the money ends?
Once federal grant funding ends many resources and opportunities at Hispanic Serving Institutions continue only through student and faculty efforts. Experts say campuses must maintain programs to better serve Latino students.
Higher Education
Hundreds arrested and suspended: How California colleges are disciplining faculty and students over protests
Students and faculty protesting the Israel-Hamas war at universities throughout California are facing a range of consequences from arrests to suspensions and bans from campus. Meanwhile, students and faculty have also had to endure campus closures, canceled events, and classes moving online. What are the academic and legal costs of civil disobedience for California’s college protesters?
Higher Education
UC’s president had a plan to deescalate protests. How did we get a night of violence at UCLA?
The University of California’s campus safety plan was designed to calm protests by limiting law enforcement. Yet as tensions grew to violence against a UCLA student encampment erected in protest over the war in Gaza, many are criticizing law enforcement’s initial lack of intervention.
College Beat
Native American students get free tuition to attend the UC. Why it isn’t enough.
The UC Native American Opportunity Plan seeks to make the system a viable option for Native students in California by offering them free tuition. But Native students enrolled at UC campuses report that strains on their budgets along with insufficient resources and faculty representation have been obstacles to academic success.
College Beat
California’s disabled students left behind during emergencies: ‘They just weren’t ready for someone like me’
After bringing his story all the way to the University of California Board of Regents, a disabled UC Berkeley student has prompted the UC to ensure emergency evacuation chairs are in every multi-storied building in the 10-university system.
College Beat
California colleges have to slash emissions. Here’s why decarbonization is complex and costly.
California’s three public university systems are either setting or reworking their climate plans to fall in line with the state’s goal for carbon neutrality by 2045, all while striving to expand in size and scope. New plans do away with a large reliance on carbon offsets, making an already difficult and costly process of reducing emissions even harder.