Higher Education

Lawmakers approved a legislative Hail Mary they say will allow UC Berkeley to admit all the new students it planned to this fall, undoing a judge’s enrollment cap. Without the bill, the campus said it would have needed to defer admissions and move other students online to satisfy the judge’s order.

The CalMatters College Journalism Network spoke with first-generation college students across the state about the challenges they face on campus.

The California Supreme Court agreed with a lower court’s order that UC Berkeley cap its enrollment. New statements from the university say it will be able to enroll almost all of the students it planned for the coming academic year. The cap is the result of a lawsuit based on the California Environmental Quality Act.

If UC Berkeley loses its fight to block a judge’s enrollment cap order, UC Berkeley said it’ll have to deny slots to a third of its incoming class. One key lawmaker thinks the university should give priority to Californians. It’s a coda to ongoing tension over how many nonresident students the UCs should enroll.

California State University Chancellor Joseph Castro resigned after criticism over his handling of sexual assault allegations leveled against a high-ranking colleague.

The merger between Oakland’s Mills College and Northeastern University in Boston will bring many changes to the tight-knit school for women. While experts say college mergers will continue, students say the effect on campus life should be taken into consideration.

Cal State resubmitted an application for state money to be used for student housing. The new application, which follows a CalMatters report on Cal State misreading the fine print, should produce 800 more affordable beds.

With Cal State students now required to take ethnic studies, San Francisco State has launched a program inside California's youth prisons. The educators behind it hope it will inspire incarcerated young people to pursue higher education.

A new California volunteer financial aid program for college students is using less than half of its budgeted money on actual student aid. Should this money support an expensive volunteer program or go to students directly?

California colleges are increasing isolation capacity and updating mask rules while planning for a future in which COVID-19 is endemic.