SECTIONS 66002-66003 - California Statutes

EDUCATION CODE

SECTION 66002-66003

66002. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) The Master Plan for Higher Education in California, 1960-75,
was originally prepared in 1959, and its recommendations were
approved in principle by the affected governing boards of the higher
education segments. Subsequently, legislation necessary to implement
certain of the master plan's provisions was enacted, including this
part. A need to differentiate the functions of the segments of higher
education and rapidly increasing enrollments were primary factors
that motivated the creation of the master plan.
(b) Pursuant to Resolution Chapter 285 of the Statutes of 1970,
and Resolution Chapter 232 of the Statutes of 1971, a joint committee
of the Legislature issued its report in 1973, entitled "Report of
the Joint Committee on the Master Plan for Higher Education," which
reaffirmed the principles of the original master plan and emphasized
a need for the segments of higher education to improve access and
educational equity, coordination and planning, governance, and
diversity within the entire system. As in the 1960s, legislation
necessary to implement certain of the joint committee's
recommendations was enacted, largely through amendments to this part.
(c) (1) Pursuant to Chapter 1507 of the Statutes of 1984, the
Commission for the Review of the Master Plan for Higher Education
conducted public hearings and deliberations; in 1987, it issued its
report and recommendations, "The Master Plan Renewed: Unity, Equity,
Quality, and Efficiency in California Postsecondary Education."
(2) Building on this report and two more years of public dialogue
pursuant to Resolution Chapter 175 of the Statutes of 1984, the Joint
Committee for the Review of the Master Plan for Higher Education
adopted a comprehensive report in 1989, entitled "California Faces. .
.California's Future: Education for Citizenship in a Multicultural
Democracy," that affirms the achievements and the basic structure of
the 1960 Master Plan for Higher Education and identifies new
challenges for California's institutions of higher education.
(d) Pursuant to Resolution Chapter 106 of the Statutes of 2009
(A.C.R. 65), the Committee for the Review of the Master Plan for
Higher Education conducted a needs-based assessment comprising public
hearings and deliberations to understand the needs of our state and
our people and how our system of higher education can best meet those
needs and issued a report titled, "Appreciating Our Past, Ensuring
Our Future: A Public Agenda for Public Higher Education in
California," viewing the master plan as a living document,
reaffirming the essential tenets of the master plan of universal
access, affordability and high quality, and identifying the need for
an overarching policy framework of statewide public policy goals
based upon the outcomes required, increased accountability both
fiscal and programmatic, and more effective coordination and
articulation.
(e) California in the 21st century continues experiencing a period
of unprecedented population growth and extraordinary social and
economic changes while the ability of our state's public system of
higher education to carry out the master plan is at risk.
(f) In the spirit of the original master plan and the subsequent
reviews, the Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1) California has now passed the threshold of becoming a state
with a new multicultural majority as the ethnic composition of the
population is changing dramatically. Our state's future economic,
social, and cultural development depends upon ensuring that all its
citizens have opportunities to develop themselves so that they can
contribute their best to society.
(2) Current estimates indicate that California will need to
prepare more than one million additional graduates by the year 2025
in public higher education institutions to meet our workforce needs.
California needs to prepare now for the projected enrollments in the
21st century. And, if the goals of the master plan and its subsequent
updates are to be fully achieved, especially if groups that are
historically and currently underrepresented increase their rates of
participation in higher education, enrollments will most likely
exceed even these projections.
(3) California must support an educational system that prepares
all Californians for responsible citizenship and meaningful careers
in a multicultural society; this requires a commitment from all to
make high-quality education available and affordable for every
Californian.
(4) To accomplish these goals, California's system of higher
education will need to expand.
(5) It is the intent of the Legislature that the work completed by
the master plan review committees be used to guide higher education
policy.

66003. It is the intent of the Legislature to outline in statute
the broad policy and programmatic goals of the master plan and clear,
concise statewide goals and outcomes for effective implementation of
the master plan, attuned to the public interest of the people and
State of California, and to expect the system as a whole and the
higher education segments to be accountable for attaining those
goals. However, consistent with the spirit of the original master
plan and the subsequent updates, it is the intent of the Legislature
that the governing boards be given ample discretion in implementing
policies and programs necessary to attain those goals.