This report calls on the people of California, government, colleges and universities, students and families to act in concert to achieve what none of them can achieve alone: the preservation of college opportunity for the current and future generations of Californians. From this perspective, the danger is not that some will take issue with the strategies proposed here. Debate over these strategies is to be expected--and welcomed, so long as those who disagree recognize the problem, and offer their own solutions. At least four dangers will arise if the problem goes unrecognized. The first is that those to whom these proposals are addressed will "hunker down," each protecting a separate turf, and each expecting the benefits of the social contract without accepting the responsibilities. Second, the illusory stability of the eye of the hurricane could prove so seductive that urgently needed action will be deferred. Third, more studies and analysis will be substituted for action. And finally, the political leadership of the state will not take the essential, initial steps toward action--will not place the challenge of preserving opportunity squarely on their own agenda and on that of the other responsible parties.
The report calls for major changes on the part of all those responsible for, and served by, California higher education. It assumes, however, that these changes can be made within the existing organizational and financial arrangements and within roles and responsibilities of public colleges and universities as presently configured. During the next year, the Center will examine these assumptions critically as part of its national projects on higher education governance and finance. However, the test of viability will not be found in studies--the Center's or anyone else's. The test will be the capacity of the colleges and universities to mobilize for constructive change, and to preserve California's legacy of broadly accessible, high quality education beyond high school.