Higher Education Policy

Reflections on a Century of College Admissions Tests

Richard C. Atkinson
Saul Geiser
2009

Standardized testing for college admissions has grown exponentially since the first administration of the old “College Boards” in 1901. This paper surveys major developments since then: the introduction of the “Scholastic Aptitude Test” in 1926, designed to tap students’ general analytic ability; E.F. Lindquist’s creation of the ACT in 1959 as a competitor to the SAT, intended as a measure of achievement rather than ability; the renewed interest on the part of some leading colleges and universities in subject-specific assessments such as the SAT Subject Tests and Advanced Placement...

The Growing Correlation Between Race and SAT Scores: New Findings from California by Saul Geiser

Saul Geiser
2015

This paper presents new and surprising findings on the relationship between race and SAT scores. The findings are based on the population of California residents who applied for admission to the University of California from 1994 through 2011, a sample of over 1.1 million students. The UC data show that socioeconomic background factors – family income, parental education, and race/ethnicity – account for a large and growing share of the variance in students’ SAT scores over the past twenty years. More than a third of the variance in SAT scores can now be predicted by factors known at...

Back to the Future: Freshman Admissions at the University of California, 1994 to the Present and Beyond, by Saul Geiser

Saul Geiser
2014

The past five years have seen unprecedented changes in freshman admissions at the University of California, reflecting steep cuts in state funding that UC sustained during that period as well as changes in UC’s definition of who is eligible to enter the university. The number of California applicants who were not admitted to the UC system more than doubled between 2010 and 2012, although part of that increase also reflected a change in admissions policies and procedures. The number of “no shows” – applicants who were admitted but did not attend – increased...

Affirmative Action, the Fisher Case, and the Supreme Court: What the Justices and the Public Need to Know, by John Aubrey Douglass

John Aubrey Douglass
2013

Once again, the U.S. Supreme Court will decide on the contentious issue of Affirmative Action, and specifically the use of race in admissions decisions in public universities. Despite differences in the details, seasoned veterans of affirmative action debates are experiencing déjà vu. In this case, Abigail Noel Fisher claims overt racial discrimination when the highly selective University of Texas at Austin (UT) rejected her freshman application in 2008. The Court’s ruling could range from upholding the legal precedent of allowing race to be one of many factors in admissions; to a...

Credential Inflation And The Professional Doctorate In California Higher Education

Thomas J. La Belle
2004

The article argues that the time has come to change California’s 1960 Master Plan for higher education by permitting the California State University (CSU) to award the doctorate in selected professional programs. The article also addresses the inadequacies of the joint doctorate as the means to remedy degree or credential creep; the CSU’s focus on securing permission to grant the Ed.D. rather than other professional doctoral degrees; and the dominant role played in the State by the CSU relative to the UC in master’s level education. Subsequently, the article considers why degree and...

Californians Redefine Academic Freedom

Martin Trow
2005

This position paper discusses the changes to the UC Academic Senate’s regulations on academic freedom and on policies for teaching potentially contentious or political issues, arguing that the new regulation has not been adequately considered in light of its detrimental effect on academic standards. Whereas previously the university’s policy had stated that faculty were not to use their teaching to “convert” students, the new regulation relies on individual instructors’ “competence” and allows for their politically committed viewpoints instead of establishing any guidelines for...

How Best To Coordinate California Higher Education: Comments On The Governor's Proposed Reforms

Warren H. Fox
2005

California government is now considering major reforms in the organization of higher education, specifically dismantling the state’s independent planning and coordinating agency, the California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC), and placing it and the Student Aid Commission under a new position in the governor’s office, possibly a Secretary of Higher Education. This recommendation is the result of Governor Schwarzenegger’s establishment of the California Performance Review Commission, in February of 2004, to investigate possible reorganization and other reforms for reducing...

A Proposal to Eliminate the SAT in Berkeley Admissions, by Saul Geiser

Saul Geiser
2016

The SAT is used for two purposes at the University of California. First is eligibility: Determining whether applicants meet the minimum requirements for admission to the UC system. Second is admissions selection: At high-demand campuses such as Berkeley, with many more eligible applicants than places available, test scores are used to select from among them. UC policy delegates authority to the faculty at each campus to establish local admissions procedures that reflect “campus values and academic priorities.” Under the proposal outlined...

Small Liberal Arts Colleges and Enrollment Capacity at Public Universities: Imagining a Consortium Approach by Carol T. Christ

Carol Christ
2016

Many small private liberal arts colleges struggle to make their enrollment targets, while many public universities cannot meet enrollment demand. Thinking creatively about collaboration between these kinds of institutions might increase the capacity of our higher education system. This essay explores models by which we might do so.

Revisiting California Higher Education Coordination, by David E. Leveille

David E. Leveille
2012

Accountability in postsecondary education across the nation has matured for the most part over the past five years. The same cannot be said for California. In California, the limited attention to accountability is inconsistent to the heightened focus on accountability at the national level. As a result of widespread and increasing concern about the quality, efficiency, and effectiveness of California postsecondary education, its governance and the management of public postsecondary education institutions, this paper has three objectives: a)To briefly describe the state of governance...