This annual report details how California's 1.8 million community college students continued in 2022-2023 to make progress toward meeting -- and in some cases exceeding --- systemwide goals and again demonstrated why the state's 116 colleges are engines for equity and social mobility. As the Vision for Success has served students and California…

While increased college access is widely celebrated for racialized peoples, the end goal of inclusion maintains engagement with and desires for wellbeing within the U.S. white supremacist settler state. This paper examines a culturally relevant college preparation program designed primarily for Mexican-origin youth in California to consider the…

America needs community colleges to be the most adaptive and responsive sector of the higher education system in order to remain competitive in a global marketplace. Employers need community college career technical education (CTE) programs to be responsive to labor force needs and produce competent middle-skilled workers. Policymakers need…

This study explores the role of student support services in fostering persistence among Some College, No Credential (SCNC) students re-entering higher education, with a specific focus on community colleges in Southern California. As the number of SCNC students continues to rise, understanding the challenges and support systems available to this…

Often, research on the efficacy of postsecondary workforce programs does not convey their impact on true social mobility. The purpose of this study is to investigate project-based Career and Technical Education (CTE) workforce pathways in Silicon Valley. This study takes a step towards better understanding what constitutes the metrics that explain…

I study the efficacy of test-based meritocracy in college admissions by evaluating the impact of a grade-based "top percent'' policy implemented by the University of California. Eligibility in the Local Context (ELC) provided large admission advantages to the top four percent of 2001-2011 graduates from each California high school. I…

Within California, there are high numbers of Multilingual Language Learners (MLLs) that populate California public schools that require special programs and services to ensure their academic, language, and social success. According to the Public Policy Institute of California (2023), nearly 25 percent or 1.4 million of the students in California…

Higher education is widely recognized as a catalyst for upward mobility and a societal benefit, yet this acknowledgment often overlooks the unique challenges faced by low-income single mothers of color (LISMC). Despite the University of California (UC) system's status as a leading public research institution, it provides limited support for LISMC…

This study investigated how first-generation, loan-borrowing college graduates from a California public college or university viewed the continued increase in college tuition and its impact on their financial well-being. College tuition has continued to increase and outpace the United States rate of inflation, and the mindfulness of student loans…

With a decision pending in two lawsuits challenging race-conscious admissions practices at Harvard and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), many observers are predicting that the US Supreme Court will significantly limit, if not completely prohibit, the use of race in college and university admissions. However if the United…

The purpose of this study was to empirically investigate the symbiotic relationship between Native nation-building and higher education in California (CA)--an understudied topic in Indian education. The aim was two-fold: 1) understand how, and whether, educational achievement and nation-building are tied together, and 2) extend current literature…

There is documented need for California to produce more bachelor's degree holders. Broad agreement exists that increasing community college transfer is an essential strategy for achieving this critical goal, while at the same time closing equity gaps and promoting mobility for residents of a state plagued with the nation's highest cost of living.…

Rigorous learning opportunities at high schools in low-income neighborhoods are limited and ineffective, and in these settings the Advanced Placement (AP) program has mostly eluded successful implementation. In this study, Suneal Kolluri analyzes two schools in the same low-income, Latinx neighborhood that, despite comparable numerical gains, have…

Historically, community colleges have promoted social mobility by providing access to higher education, especially for underrepresented groups. Because of their geographic availability, open admissions policy, and low cost, these colleges have expanded educational opportunity to millions of Americans, young and old. Recently, however, the emphasis…

While research on Asian American students has overwhelmingly emphasized family ties as an important contributor to student success in high school, what it neglects is how family ties can constrain students in their educational endeavors. Based on a study of 30 low-income Hmong American high school students, I argue that poverty can create…