California Competes: Higher Education for a Strong Economy

01/07/2025

Ring in 2025 with California Competes! 🎉 From the enactment of our first cosponsored bill championing student parent success to cocreating a new college program alongside local residents that truly meets their needs, 2024 was a year of great strides and bright moments. And we're just getting started.

Read CEO Su Jin Jez's New Year's message to learn about our plans for the year ahead:

CEO Su Jin Jez shares her reflections on 2024 and California Competes's plans for 2025.

11/26/2024

: We learned from comebacker students (those who paused their college journey and later returned) that academic probation policies and practices pose barriers to re-enrollment and college completion: https://californiacompetes.org/resources/from-setback-to-success-meeting-comebackers-where-they-are/

So, we dug deeper into how to address these challenges and outlined four steps institutions can take to reform academic probation to promote student success. Learn more: https://californiacompetes.org/resources/reworking-academic-probation-to-promote-student-success/

When we interviewed comebacker students last year, we heard their issues loud and clear: current academic probation policies and practices pose significant obstacles to student success and completion. To address their concerns, we highlight how institutions can reform academic probation, ensuring st...

11/13/2024

The California Alliance for Student Parent Success, administered by California Competes and EdTrust-West, commends The California State University for working to meet the unique needs of student parents and their families through the launch of the Pregnant and Parenting Student Initiative. Read the full statement here:

The California Alliance for Student Parent Success (The Alliance) is led by California Competes: Higher Education for Strong Economy and The Education Trust-West, with support from an Advisory Committee that includes student parents and other field experts.

11/07/2024

"There is a tendency for us to speak about students in a universal way, and we don't realize that the imagined student typically is a white student. When we do that, we forget, or we leave out that the lived reality of a Black or a Latinx student is not the same as all students—and that is why we continue to reproduce inequality."

to this conversation with Dr. Estela Bensimon, a longstanding champion for racial equity in higher education, in which she shared insights on using data to move from equity talk to action. Learn more:

A pioneer in “equity-minded” scholarship—a term she created—Dr. Estela Mara Bensimon is one of a small number of University of Southern California professors honored with the title University Professor for her multidisciplinary contributions. California Competes Executive Director Dr. Su Jin...

10/30/2024

To chart the course toward equitable higher education and employment outcomes, California’s policymakers and leaders need to make evidence-based decisions. That’s why we created the California Postsecondary to Prosperity Dashboard, which braids together multiple data sources to produce an interactive, user-friendly portal with visualizations on the state of opportunity across California. Access the dashboard here: https://p2p.californiacompetes.org/

10/25/2024

Attention California legislators! Save the date for our fourth Higher Education Policy Institute, happening on January 30 and 31, 2025 in Sonoma.

At the institute, we will present new research and data to fuel ideas on how higher education can drive inclusive economic strength for the state and its residents. The event will bring legislators together with experts and leaders at the forefront of postsecondary transformation and facilitate discussions to support innovative thinking.

To RSVP or for more information please contact California Competes Policy Director AJ Johnson at [email protected].

10/22/2024

🔎Just released! Our new analysis examines disparities in internship access among Californians.

Key insights:
💡Women were half as likely as men to complete paid internships.
💡White and Asian Californians completed paid internships at higher rates than their Black, Latinx, and Native American peers.
💡First-generation college students were three times less likely to complete paid internships than continuing-generation students.
💡Older graduates (those earning bachelor’s degrees at 30+) were far less likely to have had an internship compared to younger grads.

These disparities represent missed opportunities that can ripple through careers, communities, and California's economy. Our brief outlines key recommendations for employers, policymakers, and educational institutions to address these gaps. Learn more: https://californiacompetes.org/resources/exploring-equity-in-paid-and-unpaid-internships/

10/18/2024

⚡Out today! Great EdSource article by Emma Gallegos on how comebackers–students who paused college and later returned– identified academic probation as a major barrier to college success.

California Competes CEO Su Jin Jez and Senior Researcher Laura Bernhard dive into what they’ve learned and the changes needed in California to better support students. Learn more: https://californiacompetes.org/resources/reworking-academic-probation-to-promote-student-success/

When a college student’s GPA dips below 2.0 — lower than a C average — schools often send a notice meant to serve as a wake-up call: Improve your grades or risk losing financial aid and being kicked out of college.

But the way that universities and colleges deliver this wake-up call could be backfiring and pushing students to give up on higher education altogether, according to new research.

Read more: https://bit.ly/4f5LS2c

10/11/2024

Rounding out our appreciation posts with the most important one yet: Thank you to all the student parents and student parent advocates who dedicated their time, energy, and support to this work.

The testimonies you gave in Sacramento, the coloring pages you sent to the Governor, and the insights you shared to shape this policy are truly at the heart of why the GAINS for Student Parents Act became law.

We truly hope you feel proud of this victory and take time to celebrate.

Learn more about how this critical law will advance student parent success and what’s next: https://castudentparentalliance.org/resources/ab-2458-berman-greater-accessibility-information-notice-and-support-gains-for-student-parents-act/

10/10/2024

Our next appreciations go out to the bill’s co-sponsors: UNITE LA, Cal State Student Association, Generation Hope, Michelson Center for Public Policy, uAspire, and The California Alliance for Student Parent Success, which is administered by EdTrust-West and California Competes.

We are so grateful to have fierce and steadfast partners like you. Together, our advocacy efforts helped secure a more affordable and equitable college journey for over 400,000 student parents in California.

Learn more about how this critical law will advance student parent success and what’s next: https://castudentparentalliance.org/resources/ab-2458-berman-greater-accessibility-information-notice-and-support-gains-for-student-parents-act/

10/09/2024

Continuing our appreciation posts this week with a huge thank you to the bill’s co-authors, Assemblymember Marc Berman, Assemblymember Tasha Boerner, Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula, Senator Monique Limón, and Senator Angelique Ashby.

Because of your leadership, 400,000 student parents will have access to the financial aid to which they’re entitled, and colleges will be able to identify and better serve student parents on their campuses.

Learn more about how this critical law will advance student parent success and what’s next: https://castudentparentalliance.org/resources/ab-2458-berman-greater-accessibility-information-notice-and-support-gains-for-student-parents-act/

10/08/2024

On the tail of ’s signing, The California Alliance for Student Parent Success, led by California Competes and EdTrust-West, is excited to keep the momentum going with a new resource: an analysis of how California’s 2024-25 budget impacts student parents: https://castudentparentalliance.org/resources/2024-25-budget-analysis/

We highlight key investments, cuts, and shifts, organized by the five core strategies in our policy agenda: strengthening financial aid, providing quality, affordable child care, meeting housing needs, advancing family-serving institutional policies and practices, and improving data collection and use.