State orders creation of new education program

By Leo Wallach
Daily Bruin Contributor

To strengthen ties between K-12 and higher education, the state
legislature has ordered the creation of a new Master Plan for
Education that would help students move from kindergarten to
graduate school.

The state senate and assembly have ordered the formation of the
Joint Committee to Develop a Master Plan for Education, which is
divided into seven subgroups, which are currently meeting and will
issue a report to the committee, probably in the next two
months.

Though UC officials supported the plan, there were concerns over
how this could affect the university’s budget.

The original Master Plan, implemented in 1960, defined the
mission for each branch of higher education in California for the
next 40 years. It requires the UC to accept the top 12.5 percent of
California high school graduates and makes it the only state
institution that can award Ph.D.s. The plan also makes the UC the
primary research institution for California.

The admission quotas, as well as the general mission of each
branch of higher education will likely be unaffected, committee
members said.

“On the whole, the system is in good health,” said
working group member and president of CSU Sacramento Donald Gerth.
The fundamental missions of the UC, CSU, and community colleges
would not be changed, he added.

State assemblywoman and Joint Committee member Elaine Alquist
echoed these statements.

“By expanding the Master Plan to include K-12 as well as
higher education, the Joint Committee expects to coordinate
planning and to enhance opportunities for all Californians," she
said.

But among senators and assembly members who make up the
committee “there is deep dissatisfaction with the outcomes of
the present system,” said Sarah Lunquist, a member of the
working group on student learning and vice president for student
services at Santa Ana College.

She referred specifically to the large segments of California
students who are not able to make it to higher education.

Changing admission standards is not the answer, she said.
Instead, the focus of discussions has centered around practical
ways to make students do better in school.

“What the Master Plan has an obligation to do is to ensure
that students are academically prepared for college,” she
said.

The working group on student learning is also looking to improve
access to four-year institutions by expanding the transfer system
from community colleges. According to Esther Hugo, a member of the
committee’s subgroup on student learning, the committee has
discussed expanding guaranteed transfer programs between community
colleges and the UC and CSU.

The committee has also discussed the possibility of community
colleges providing upper division courses in popular majors, she
said. Community colleges traditionally offer only general classes
designed to prepare students for transfer to a four-year
school.

The new Master Plan will also cover K-12 education, a major
change from the original Master Plan which applied solely to higher
education.

The goal of this extension is to allow students a
“seamless transition” between all levels of public
education, particularly between high school and college and between
junior college and four-year institutions, said Hugo.

But UC president Richard Atkinson is concerned about rumored
budget changes. Atkinson referred specifically to proposals to
lower funding for UC lower division courses to the same rate as the
CSU and community colleges courses. He was also concerned about a
proposal under which the state would break down the UC budget by
course level and mission. Atkinson said this would limit the
UC’s ability to hire staff and faculty.

“If they make these changes we’d be in real
trouble,” Atkinson said before the system-wide Academic
Senate Wednesday.

But overall the university is supportive of plans to incorporate
K-12 education into the Master Plan, said UC spokesman Brad
Hayward.

“Creating stronger linkages and a greater sense of
seamlessness between K-12 and higher education is something we very
much support,” he said.

He added that the original Master Plan “set the bar”
for higher education nationwide by providing for broad access, high
quality and distinct missions for each institution.

Hugo, who runs the outreach program at Santa Monica College,
believes that that the new Master Plan “will eventually
provide greater stature (to community colleges like Santa Monica)
by emphasizing our college level coursework.”

The “seamless transition” sought by the Joint
Committee will start long before college, committee members said.
There are plans to give parents yearly reports, starting in
kindergarten, to keep them updated on their child’s progress,
according to Hugo.

This new emphasis on information sharing are designed to allow
students to “keep up rather than catch up,” Lunquist
said.

With reports by Noah Grand, Daily Bruin Reporter