higher education

A budget deal between lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsmon includes $227 million more for the state’s Middle Class Scholarship, part of a commitment to eventually remove any reason for public university students to take out loans to pay for their education. The revised program debuted last year, sending an average of nearly $2,000 to 300,000 students.

The budget includes welcome increases to state financial aid to students in need and a set-aside for universities struggling with ‘financial sustainability.’

While some California college professors remain concerned about students using generative AI such as ChatGPT to cheat in class, a growing number are choosing to encourage its limited use in classroom assignments. From analyzing films to writing research proposals, the assignments seek to convey the benefits of AI as a research tool while acknowledging its limitations and propensity for error.

In far-Northern California and other rural and conservative-leaning parts of the state, LGBTQ+ student groups are small in number and face homophobic and transphobic incidents on and off campus. Some help is on the way.

With a conservative Supreme Court expected to rule this summer in favor of ending or restricting affirmative action in college admissions, California’s private universities are worried about the potential impact on campus diversity. College administrators are revamping admissions and doing more high school outreach, while student activists are campaigning against a potential ban.

As California closes three more prisons and downsizes six others, some prisoners aren’t ready to go. They are worried about the future of their education.

With thousands of homeless and food insecure students, state legislators funded new programs to offer support to community colleges. CalMatters asked each college how it’s going.

California’s community college system will continue processing applications for new baccalaureate degrees, even after top lawmakers requested a pause on doing so following complaints from California State University officials.

More than a year of mudslinging between the higher education systems has led to delays and anger over the issue of awarding bachelor’s degrees at community colleges. Legislators, frustrated by the lack of progress, are getting involved.

Many college students rely on federal student aid to cover expenses, but increasingly complicated laws and poor communication have made those dollars harder to come by for some adult students.

According to the Oregon Education Association, part-time community college instructors are paid roughly half as much as their full-time counterparts on average.

Enrollment is down at the University of California and the Cal State, which has frustrated lawmakers who gave both systems more money to increase their number of students.