Finances, safety and institutional capacity are the main challenges ahead for two of the nation’s biggest university systems, according to their leaders, who discussed the topics recently at the Education Writers Association National Seminar in Los Angeles.
University of California (UC) President Janet Napolitano and California State University (CSU) System Chancellor Dr. Timothy P. White addressed a group of education reporters during a panel discussion last week titled, “What’s in Store for Big University Systems?”
Napolitano cited financial resources, free speech on campus and the handling of sexual violence and harassment as priorities the UC system is working on. She said she is working to increase philanthropy in the UC financial model while ensuring that the system “continues to be an engine of social mobility” for California residents.
Currently, UC covers tuition and fees for any California student whose family makes less than $80,000 annually.
“We are continuing to meet our obligations under the master plan, but the financial stresses on the system are real,” Napolitano said.
The Master Plan for Higher Education in California – passed as the Donahoe Higher Education Act in 1960 – assures that higher education institutions in the state provide “appropriate educational opportunities” at reasonable costs to all qualified California students. Another goal of the plan is to “guarantee essential expansion without wasteful duplication” of educational resources.
Under this plan, UC is designated as the state’s primary academic research institution. And more broadly, the UC leader sees California’s entire education system as a “propellant” of the state’s economy.
