While Californians maintain their strong belief in the importance of higher education, college access, and student motivation, other attitudes about higher education have changed dramatically over the past three years. To understand these changes, it is useful to review some of the striking developments that have occurred in the state's economy and in the price of higher education over this period. These trends appear to have influenced many of the attitudinal changes this study documents.

Table Three Fees per Year
	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996
UC	$1,624	$2,274	$2,824	$3,454	$3,799	$3,799	$3,799
CSU	$780	$936	$1,308	$1,440	$1,584	$1,584	$1,584
CCC	$100	$120	$210	$390	$390	$390	$390
Source: William Pickens, Financing the Plan: A Database of Public Finance for Higher Education in California (San Jose: The California Higher Education Policy Center, 1996).

 

The Price of Higher Education

The period immediately prior to the 1993 study was characterized by sharp increases in tuition and fees for public education. As Table Three shows, fees for the University of California (UC) and the California State Universities (CSU) nearly doubled during this period. The fees at the California Community Colleges (CCC) went up even more sharply, although they are still much lower than in the other two systems. Compared to this period of steep increases, the years since 1993 have been marked by great stability, with either small tuition/fee increases or no increases at all.

Table Four Jobs and Unemployment
	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996
Unemployment Rate	5.8%	7.7%	9.3%	9.4%	8.6%	7.8%	6.9%
Rate of Employment Growth	3.9%	-2.2%	-.2%	-.4%	1.5%	.5%	2.1%
*As of October 1996. Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, "California Labor Force Statistics Civilian Noninstitutional Population, Seasonally Adjusted," in Faxstat (San Francisco: BLS, 1996).

 

The State's Economy

In 1993, Californians remained deeply mired in a seemingly endless recession, and the modest economic growth emerging in other parts of the country seemed to be passing the state by. In contrast, the last three years have seen strong improvement in the state's economy, with more jobs being created and new industries replacing some of those that had closed. In fact, as Table Four shows, unemployment peaked at 9.4 percent in 1993, the year Public Agenda conducted The Closing Gateway study. Today unemployment stands at 6.9 percent, the lowest rate in the past six years. Employment growth, which was negative in 1993 and the two prior years, has been positive since and was especially high in 1996.

The Closing Gateway, in short, was conducted when Californians were experiencing significant problems, both in the state's overall economy and in rising higher education costs. Since then, the situation has improved considerably.