Jobs, Higher Education & the Persistent Opportunity Gap
The Campaign for College Opportunity, Excelencia in Education, the Institute for Higher Education Policy, Young Invincibles, and MALDEF recenlty hosted a congressional briefing on the state of California higher education and the federal leadership needed to improve college going and completion.
California is the 8th largest economy in the world and is the most populous state in the country. It is also one of the most diverse. One in every two children under the age of 18 is Latino in California and the state is home to the 5th largest number of blacks in the nation, more than in states like Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi.
National goals to improve college completion cannot be met without significant contributions from California. With absent critical leadership at the state and federal level, however, California will face significant challenges in meeting national goals and in keeping its own economic competitive edge.
Already, California is on track to produce a generation less educated than the previous ones.
The education of California's residents—and the extent to which some communities are being left behind—has significant implications for our national goals for college attainment and the health of the state and national economies.
Please contact Jessica Hunt at Jessica_hunt@hcmstrategists.com for more information.
