California's Master Plan for Higher Education, 1960-1975: A Factual Presentation of an Important Development

Abstract

B ETWEEN 1940 and I959 the number of births in the United States rose from 2,360,399 to 4,298,000, an increase of 82 per cent. During this same period the births in California increased from 114,483 to 355,288, or 2TO per cent. The significance of these increases as they relate to higher education in the nation was first highlighted by a study made in I953 for the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers.' When the number of native-born in the state and the number immigrated are translated into projected full-time enrollments in California institutions of higher education, the results are these: fulltime enrollment, which was 225,6I5 in the fall of I958 in the state's public and private institutions of higher education, is expected to increase by I975 to 66I,350, or nearly three times the number in I958. In terms of percentages, the estimated increases by segments are as follows: junior colleges, I76; state colleges, 357; University of California, 227; private colleges and universities, I90; all institutions, I90. In comparison, it is interesting to note that in the eleven-year period 1948-I958, the fulltime enrollment increases in all institutions in the state amounted to 35 per cent. In addition to the full-time students, defined as those taking twelve or more units of work, part-time students in 1975 are expected to number about 375,000. A further fact of significance in support of the estimates given is the anticipated increase in high-school graduates in the state in the period 1958-I975, when the number of public-high-school graduates is expected to increase by I78 per cent. In the light of these figures it is not surprising that the Legislature, the governing boards and their staffs, and interested citizens were concerned about how the state should proceed if it is to provide adequate educational opportunity to these large numbers of young people. In I9I9, I93I, I947, and again in I953, the Legislature authorized general studies in the field of higher education. The two most recent of these have had a significant influence on the development of higher education