Past Events

Challenges and Opportunities for California Community Colleges in Responding to COVID 19

Panel | July 17 | 1 - 2 p.m. PDT |Video

The panel will provide multiple perspectives on the potential financial and operational impact of COVID 19 on California’s community colleges. Panel members will include the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, the Chancellor of the Foothill-De Anza Community College District, as well as UC Berkeley higher education researcher with experience as a CFO at multiple college campuses.

Specific topics addressed by the panelists will include the...

Rhetoric vs. Realities: The Student Debt Crisis

Lecture | RESCHEDULED November 17 | 11:00 a.m - 12:00 p.m. | Youtube Livestream | Powerpoint

This discussion of student debt will question the premise that there is a general crisis, focusing on the students and institutions facing difficulties, the benefits of borrowing for college as well as the sometimes severe problems debt financing creates, and potential policy solutions. What...

Impact of Public Spending on Postsecondary Attainment

Lecture | December 11 | 1 p.m. PST | Video

Increasing the postsecondary attainment rate of college-age youth is an important economic priority in the U.S. and in other developed countries, but little is known about whether different forms of public subsidy can increase degree completion. In this study, we compare the impacts of public spending on postsecondary attainment when it is spent on lowering tuition prices versus increasing the quality of the college experience. We do so by estimating the causal...

The Polarization in Trust for American Institutions since 1970

Lecture | September 22 | 10 - 11:00 a.m. | RSVP

The well-known polarization of American politics in the past fifty years has led to polarization in evaluations of basic knowledge producing institutions, including higher education, science, and journalism, so that they are now trusted more by Democrats than by Republicans. Similarly there is polarization in evaluations of basic rules and values institutions such as the police, the military, and religion so that they are now trusted more by Republicans than Democrats. Using data from the 1970s onwards...

Divergent Pathways: New Measurements of Undergraduate Success

Lecture | March 3 | 4-5:00 p.m. | Social Science Matrix Conference Room, 8th Floor | 820 Barrows Hall
| Berkeley, CA 94720-1922 | RSVP

Speaker: Richard Arum

Utilizing newly designed performance assessments to better identify undergraduate experiences and outcomes, the Next Generation Undergraduate Success Measurement Project improves the understanding of the value of undergraduate educational experiences and promotes...

Overregulating Community College Students through Racist Financial Aid Policies and Practices

Lecture | February 11 | 4-5:00 p.m. | Social Science Matrix Conference Room, 8th Floor Barrows Hall|Lecture | 820 Barrows Hall
| UC Berkeley | RSVP

Speaker: Devon Graves

To understand the barriers that exist in the financial aid process, Dr. Devon Graves conducted his dissertation research on financial aid verification and disbursement at a California...