Higher Education

Students sit outside of Royce Hall at UCLA — among the University of California campuses that could experience tuition hikes every year under a pending proposal. File photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

Higher Education

UC tuition hike: Regents to vote on ‘forever’ increase

Thursday’s vote could allow UC campuses to raise tuition every year, indefinitely — despite receiving extra state cash. Student groups are outraged and key lawmakers oppose the move, but UC says it needs more money and that financial aid will blunt the hit to students.

By

Mikhail Zinshteyn

• July 19, 2021

Menstrual activist and first year UCSC student Amanda Safi holds a menstrual cup from The Honey Pot Company. The Black-owned business is dedicated to menstrual health and hygiene. Photo by Lluvia Moreno for CalMatters College Journalism Network

College Beat

Latest ‘menstrual equity’ bill would require California’s public colleges to provide period products

A bill pending in the Legislature would require California’s public universities, community colleges and secondary schools to provide free menstrual products on campus. Students pushing for the bill say they are trying to break through taboos surrounding a matter of basic hygiene, and that many low-income students suffer from “period poverty,” in which they are unable to afford the pads and tampons they need.

By

Emily Forschen

• July 13, 2021

Education

California lacks timely data on which high schoolers go to college. This might fix that.

California high schools say they make students college-ready, but rarely does the public have the data to see if students actually made it to college and thrived. California lags the nation in public data that shows how students move from school to college and the workforce. A statewide fix is on the horizon.

By

Mikhail Zinshteyn

and

Charlotte West

• July 12, 2021

College Beat

Supreme Court, NCAA decisions embolden advocates for college athlete compensation in California

California’s landmark law allowing college athletes to sign paid endorsement deals started a national movement. With the NCAA no longer banning athlete compensation, advocates are pushing to speed up the law’s implementation and expand it to cover community college players.

By

Matthew Reagan

• July 2, 2021

Students walks through the Meriam Library courtyard at Chico State University on February 12, 2020. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

Education

California lawmakers tout big college spending, but key items get zero dollars this year

Lawmakers say their budget deal with Gov. Gavin Newson will expand enrollment at public universities and create a debt-free grant. But those items aren’t getting a dollar this coming year. Instead, bill language says the money will come next year. Other major investments are in this year’s budget, though.

By

Mikhail Zinshteyn

• June 29, 2021

College Beat

Photo Essay: Graduation, At Last

From car caravans to stadium ceremonies with socially distanced seating, this year’s California college graduations were unlike any before, as campuses attempted to balance safety with celebration amid a still-simmering pandemic. In some cases, commencement plans were the result of hard-fought debates between students and administrators about how much in-person contact to allow. But as […]

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• June 23, 2021

College Beat

Graduate student researchers at University of California seek union representation

Across the University of California, teaching assistants and tutors are unionized, but graduate student researchers are not. That could soon change, after organizers filed more than 10,000 signed union authorization cards with the California Public Employment Relations Board last month.

By

Katherine Swartz

and

Gabe Schneider

• June 21, 2021

Brian Cruz photographed at Valley-Wide Recreation and Park District in San Jacinto on June 13, 2021. Photo by Nalani Hernandez-Melo for CalMatters

Higher Education

How some college counselors are fighting back against pandemic-induced enrollment decline

Thousands of California high school graduates didn’t go to college last year due to the pandemic. The drop, which mostly affected community colleges, might be temporary, but it showed the need to provide more support for students going from high school to college. A new counseling program in Riverside County aims to do just that.

By

Charlotte West

and

Angel Fabre

• June 16, 2021

Butte College campus bustles between classes on February 12, 2020. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

Education

Thanks, but no thanks: Why community colleges are resisting $170 million

College faculty for decades have been seeking more money to hire full-time instructors. But could that hurt colleges financially down the line if student enrollments continue to sag?

By

Mikhail Zinshteyn

• June 9, 2021

Russell Jeung, co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate, near the office of Chinese for Affirmative Action in San Francisco Chinatown on May 7, 2021. Jeung is an Asian American Studies professor at San Francisco State University. Photo by Harika Maddala

College Beat

Inside the California organization tracking anti-Asian hate incidents

Stop AAPI Hate, a California-based coalition, has recorded nearly 7,000 hate incidents involving Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders nationwide since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. It’s become a key source of information for the media and for advocates looking to stop the surge of racist attacks.

By

Mallika Seshadri

• June 7, 2021