California's iconic master plan for higher education is in peril
11:30 PM PDT on Sunday, April 25, 2010
Fifty years ago, California promised its young people a top-notch college education that would be free or cost next to nothing.
Today, annual undergraduate fees are set to top $11,000 at some state-run universities, students are frustrated by fewer course offerings, and employee furloughs and layoffs are continuing. The 1960 master plan that served as a template for the state's higher-education system is in tatters.
As the plan turns 50 Tuesday, legislators, think tanks and academics are debating whether the iconic document remains relevant or whether it should be abandoned and replaced with a blueprint that reflects the state's new realities.
"I think this is a plan whose time has come and gone," said Patrick Callan, president of the San Jose-based National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. "The message to young people used to be 'if you do your part, there will be a place in college for you.' We've eroded this commitment from top to