The Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1965 was created to strengthen the capacity of and access to higher education for all citizens of the United States. The HEA has evolved into a complex and comprehensive series of programs that includes much of the original impetus for access and equity, and also provides funding for a host of enrichment and specialized programs for a diverse clientele of higher education constituencies. The HEA has helped to open the doors of higher education to millions of students who otherwise would have lacked the resources to attend college.

TITLE V, Higher Education Act:

DEVELOPING HISPANIC-SERVING INSTITUTIONS

The research that led to the creation of Title V determined that Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) provide a significant proportion of postsecondary opportunities for Hispanic students even though they receive significantly less in State and local funding, per fulltime equivalent (FTE) student, than other institutions of higher education, thereby limiting their ability to expand and improve programs and institutional strength. Hispanic-Serving Institutions are defined as those with low education and general expenditures, and 25 percent or more FTE undergraduate Hispanic students of whom 50 percent or more are low-income.

Title V funds may be used by the institutions to plan, develop, undertake, and carry out programs to improve and expand the institutions' capacity to serve Hispanic students and other low-income students; such activities may include the renovation of instructional facilities, faculty development, the purchase of scientific or laboratory equipment for educational purposes, funds and administrative management, development and improvement of academic programs, acquisition of equipment to strengthen funds management and academic programs, joint use of facilities, academic tutoring, counseling programs, and student support services.

A Title V Cooperative grant is awarded to cooperating institutions so that they may combine and share their resources in order to avoid costly duplicative efforts in institutional enhancement and development.

California Community Colleges

Community colleges have been the primary sources of learning, training and opportunity for low income and working people for decades – and the community colleges are the primary institution of higher education for communities of color in California (particularly African Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans). Yet the community college system is not adequately supported to build its capacity to address the needs of all of its diverse students, and as a result, is not effectively fulfilling the dreams of many low-income, language and ethnic communities in the state. The community college system fosters individual pathways to higher education, the workforce and citizenship, and enhances the economy and the quality of life in California. And our community colleges strive to achieve all of this with the lowest per-pupil funding of all sectors of K-16 public education in California. According to recent data, the University of California receives, on average, nearly $27,000 per student in state funding, California State University receives $10,905 per student, and community colleges receive $4,690 per student.

The need for our services and education continues to accelerate yet community colleges now draw less of total operating revenues from taxpayers than at any other time in our history. And unless additional funding is forthcoming, the effort of trying to spread a fixed level of resources over a larger number of activities will eventually lead to a reduction in quality.

Today, community colleges’ “open door” - which embodies a public policy commitment to broad and equal access to educational opportunity - is threatening to close. Declining public investments in higher education and concurrent rising enrollment demands jeopardize the democratic traditions upon which community colleges were founded. Changing students and customer expectations, new accountability mandates, competition for resources, and rapid and radical technological change have changed the playing field for virtually every community college in the state.

Over the next decade, explosive growth in the number of high school graduates is anticipated, and many of these graduates will look to community colleges for initial access to four-year colleges and universities or for specialized vocational training. Likewise, community colleges will bear much of the responsibility for providing a burgeoning immigrant population with new employment skills, as well as language and citizenship training. Additionally, the swelling numbers of adult learners at community colleges reflect a widespread recognition of the “life-long learning” undercurrent that supports a knowledge-based economy as new careers and changing skill requirements require workers to continually retrain and retool.

Insufficient funding has resulted in the raising of fees, constriction of course offerings, deferral of maintenance, postponement of infrastructure investment and contraction of student services, larger class sizes (community college classes in California exceed the national average by about 10 students per class), as well as by the harder work of community college faculty in California who teach, on average, some 25% more than the national average.

A diverse, well-educated populace is essential to our continued economic competitiveness, and our growth and development as a society and a state. There is much to be done to build our capacity to respond more effectively; and if this challenge remains unmet, the future of California as a diverse state faces greater and greater potential inequities. There is also tremendous pay-off if we commit to meeting the challenge — in the energy, skills and perspectives to fuel the economic life of the state, in the strength of a democratic political life with fuller participation from all of its communities, in the quality of cultural life, and in the strength of our social fabric.

To prosper economically and socially, California needs to support high-quality learning conditions and opportunities at every level of education. Providing such opportunities involves providing additional resources, opportunities and support for those students who face additional challenges – particularly immigrants or children of immigrants, low-income students, historically underrepresented ethnic groups, and English language learners. Given that the community colleges serve these populations in greater proportion than any other system of higher education, the colleges themselves need to be funded at a much higher level to create the conditions needed for the success of all their students.

Community colleges must now face the dual challenges of increasing state and local financial support, and improving the methods by which they are funded. In recent years, community colleges have begun to actively pursue new sources of revenue. According to The Chronicle of Higher Education, nearly every community college in America has become a fundraiser, not only to supplement their operating budgets, but also to build endowments that will allow them to offer more student scholarships. To raise funds, community colleges across the nation are looking to the communities they serve, stressing ties to business, and tapping into local foundation agendas.

We must also define and advocate a level of funding that will enable the community colleges to serve at full potential in the coming years. It is not enough simply to focus on enabling community colleges to maintain essential services during difficult economic times. If California and its people are to have a better future, it is clear that its community colleges can and must play a central role. Properly funded, we will enable more of our students to succeed. We will also build California’s future by preparing the workforce, by increasing educational attainment, by increasing wages and tax receipts, by helping to overcome poverty, by stimulating greater civic engagement, and by nurturing the State’s magnificent diversity.