Higher Education

A drinkable product called Feel Free was once marketed to USC students as a wellness tonic. It contains an addictive, opioid-like ingredient called kratom leaf, now banned for sale by the California Department of Public Health but still available in many stores. A new bill in the Legislature would make the ban permanent in California.

Calbright College, the state’s free online community college, is growing rapidly, despite concerns about its effectiveness. Gov. Gavin Newsom proposes tripling its annual budget.

Community colleges are spending millions on AI-powered chatbots that students say often give inaccurate answers. Many might see upgrades this year.

The popular College Corps program pays students up to $10,000 for community service work including tutoring incarcerated youth, assisting at food banks and more. The program is expanding from 45 to 52 campuses, adding hundreds of more students.

Several Cal State campuses are caught in a spiral of declining enrollment, threatening their budgets and programs. One in LA is focused on retention and re-enrolling students who dropped out.

California spent $31 million last year helping students facing homelessness with emergency housing and other services through Rapid Rehousing. The program operates at most public universities and about a quarter of community colleges, helping thousands of students who are either homeless or housing insecure, such as one student who was sleeping in a garage.

California is a national leader in data privacy. Yet state law has gaps that allow companies to collect and sell students’ data.

Local police forces get money every year from the Department of Homeland Security to assist with border patrol operations. This includes the UC San Diego Police Department, which helps monitor for smuggling along the coastline.

California’s community colleges are now giving college credit for students’ previous work experiences. The state has a goal of rapidly expanding access to these credits, though tracking progress on that goal has been difficult so far.

The latest bill would allow Southwestern College to create up to four additional bachelor’s programs aimed at workforce needs in south San Diego County.