The College Promise in California

[Pages:92]The College Promise in California

A Collection of Program Profiles

AUGUST 2016

About REL West

The Regional Educational Laboratory West (REL West) at WestEd, serving Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah, is part of a national network of 10 RELs whose mission is to provide research, analytic support, and resources that increase the use of highquality data and evidence in education decision-making.

Most REL West work is carried out in partnership with educators--from state and local decision-makers to district and school support providers and practitioners--through eight regional research alliances.

This booklet can be found online at:

For more information, contact Mary Rauner at relwest@ This booklet was developed for the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) under Contract ED-IES-12-C-0002 by Regional Educational Laboratory West administered by WestEd. The content of the booklet does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of IES or the U.S. Department of Education nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. This REL West booklet is in the public domain.

Table of Contents

Map of California College Promise Programs -- August 2016

1

Introduction to California College Promise Program Profiles

3

Adopt a Fifth Grader Program............................................................ 5

Cabrillo Commitment S4C Scholarships......................................... 7

Cerritos Complete................................................................................. 9

College of Alameda Promise.............................................................. 11

College of the Siskiyous Promise...................................................... 13

The Cuesta Promise.............................................................................. 15

Folsom Lake College/Rancho Cordova College Promise.......... 19

Higher Edge Promise............................................................................ 21

Long Beach College Promise............................................................. 25

Los Angeles College Promise............................................................. 31

Oakland Promise.................................................................................... 33

Ontario-Montclair Promise Programs.............................................. 37

Richmond Promise................................................................................ 41

San Diego Promise (Pilot Program)................................................... 45

The San Marcos Promise..................................................................... 47

Santa Ana College Promise................................................................ 51

Santa Barbara City College Promise................................................ 57

The Skyline College Promise.............................................................. 61

South Bay Promise................................................................................. 65

Valley-Bound Commitment................................................................ 69

Ventura College Promise..................................................................... 73

West Hills Community College District........................................... 77

West Valley College Community Grant.......................................... 81

Appendix A. List of California College Promise Programs

83

Appendix B. Timeline for California College Promise Programs

84

Appendix C. California College Promise Programs by District Affiliation

85

References

86

Map of California College Promise Programs -- August 2016

1 The College Promise in California: A Collection of Program Profiles

"For every young person willing to work hard, I want two years of college to be as free and universal as high school is today. Back in the day, there were kids who got high school educations if they had a lot of money. But the point was we realized, no, we want to make everybody educated. That will be good for all of us. And that's what we did. Well, I want to do the same thing now for community college educations."

? President Barack Obama Remarks by the President on America's College Promise

Macomb Community College Warren, Michigan, September 9, 2015

2 The College Promise in California: A Collection of Program Profiles

Introduction to California College Promise Program Profiles

The Regional Educational Laboratory West (REL West) at WestEd is pleased to share this collection of California College Promise program profiles. The booklet was conceived to offer easily accessible information to those who are developing, implementing, improving, and evaluating College Promise programs in their community. We hope this resource will encourage you to reach out to your colleagues across California to create a broad community of learning and support around College Promise efforts.

Background

The need for a college-educated workforce in the United States has never been greater. By 2020, more than 60 percent of U.S. jobs will require postsecondary education. Thirty percent of all jobs will demand at least an associate's degree, and another 30 percent will require at least a bachelor's degree (Carnevale et al., 2014). The California forecast is similar, with roughly two thirds of new jobs projected to require at least two years of postsecondary education (Bohn, 2014). Yet, while access to higher education is ever more important, the cost of higher education has increased dramatically over the last few decades, becoming less accessible to students from low- and middle-income families (U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2016). One result is that these students accumulate more student debt and are more likely to default on that debt compared to their more affluent peers (U.S. Department of Education, n.d.) -- a fact that underscores the need to address college affordability. College Promise programs attempt to do just that.

College Promise programs are institutional or place-based initiatives that address the challenge of higher education affordability by offering funding for students who live in the program's geographic area. Many of these initiatives also attempt to develop a "collegegoing culture" and to increase higher education completion rates for the students they serve, and, as a result, to create stronger communities (Miller-Adams, 2015). Thus, many of the programs also provide non-financial support services for students who need them.

Over the last 15 years, the number of College Promise programs across the country has steadily risen. This momentum appears to have been fueled, in part, by the visibility of statewide initiatives in Tennessee, Oregon, and Minnesota, and in part by the proposal put forth in President Obama's 2015 State of the Union speech to make community college free through a federal-state partnership (White House, 2015). Also in 2015, the College Promise Campaign, a national nonpartisan initiative of Civic Nation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, was established to develop a network of cross-sector leaders from the local, state, and national levels to develop and expand College Promise efforts.

In California, whose community college system is the largest higher education system in the country, with 2.1 million students attending 113 colleges, College Promise programs are being developed at a rapid rate. As this publication goes to press, REL West has identified

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The College Promise in California: A Collection of Program Profiles

23 such programs statewide, the largest number in any state, with 13 of them announced just within the first few months of 2016. Moreover, the state is primed to develop significantly more College Promise programs because community colleges can leverage the existing California Community Colleges Board of Governors' Fee Waiver Program, which pays enrollment fees for low-income students. Additional private and public resources can be used to cover costs for such things as books and transportation, without which education access would continue to be limited for many students. The additional funds can also cover fees and expenses for middle income students. These efforts have the potential to make a significant, positive impact on our state's students and communities.

Methodology The information about the California College Promise programs included in this booklet was gathered from May through July 2016. REL West staff began this effort by identifying California programs from lists developed by the College Promise Campaign and the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. All 72 California community college districts were contacted to request information about College Promise programs already underway or in development, and as new programs were formally announced, they were added to the list. This booklet includes all California College Promise programs that offer scholarships and that partner with a California community college. Programs that are being developed, but have not yet been publicly announced, are not profiled but are listed in Appendix A. Program information included in this booklet was initially gathered from public websites, with the accuracy of the information confirmed by college program administrators. College Promise programs are often flexible grassroots efforts that adapt to the needs of the students they serve and, thus, continue to evolve. For that reason, the information included in this booklet represents a snapshot in time. REL West would like to thank our partners, the College Promise Campaign, The California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office, The Community College League of California, and the California College Promise Leadership Team, for the collaboration that led to the development of this booklet. We are especially grateful to Helen Benjamin, Erin Brooks, Laura Perna, Martha Kanter, and Traci Spencer Griffin for their feedback on earlier versions of this booklet. This booklet is available on REL West's website as well as on the following websites: ?? California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office: ?? Community College League of California:

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The College Promise in California: A Collection of Program Profiles

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