Higher Education Leaders Aim to Reinvigorate Master Plan

Leaders of California's three public higher education systems jointly addressed the UC Board of Regents on Jan. 22 and discussed their plans for strengthening implementation of the state's Master Plan for Higher Education.



Enacted in 1960, the Master Plan made California the first state in the nation to promise a place in higher education for anyone who wanted one. It was landmark legislation that has been credited with helping California build a skilled and educated workforce and establish itself as an international powerhouse of publicly funded research and knowledge.



The purpose of the Master Plan remains as relevant today as when it was adopted more than 50 years ago, but California itself is a far different place, UC President Janet Napolitano told the board.



"We must look at the Master Plan today in terms of how we collaborate, how we cooperate.... always with the education of the next generation in mind," she said.



To that end, Napolitano, California State University Chancellor Timothy P. White and California Community College Chancellor Brice W. Harris sketched out a variety of new ways the three systems plan to work together to better serve students.



Among their goals: developing a new student-centered Web portal that makes it easier for community college students to track their academic progress toward being eligible to transfer to a UC or CSU campus.



Although still in the formative stages, the three system leaders envision a shared website that would make the transfer process more transparent — both in terms of which courses any particular students need to transfer to CSU or UC, and what kind of financial aid is available to them.