Reimagining Higher Education in California

Su Jin Jez’s parents, a military veteran and a U.S. immigrant, never had the chance to complete college. But they made sure their daughter and her older brother pursued a higher education and all the opportunities that come with it.

Ultimately, Dr. Jez attended UC Berkeley as an undergraduate and received a master’s degree and a Ph.D. at Stanford, along with the highest alumni distinction awarded by Stanford’s Graduate School of Education. And today, she is leading one of California’s top policy and research organizations focused on ensuring that more students from disadvantaged backgrounds—including first-generation students, low-income students of color, workers, and young parents—are able to find their way to college degrees and successful careers.

“Our higher education system in California is the best in the world, but we need to do more to meet the realities of today’s learners,” said Jez, who has served as CEO of Haas, Jr. Fund grantee partner California Competes since 2019.

In a recent conversation with the Fund, Dr. Jez reflected on how California Competes is identifying and supporting solutions that reimagine higher education and make it more affordable, more accessible, and more responsive not just to student needs but to the needs and demands of the California economy.

Creating a System That Works for Today’s Students

California Competes’ data shows that 6.8 million Californians have a high school diploma but no college degree. Dr. Jez said the state’s higher education system needs to offer more paths for more of those 6.8 million Californians to go to college.

The problem with today’s system, she noted, is that it was designed in the middle of the 20th century, at a time when higher education was primarily structured to benefit white students from affluent, well-educated families so they could find their way to leadership positions in business and government.

Today, however, just one in three Californians are white, and half of all students at public colleges and universities in the state work while they are enrolled.

“We are living in a time when most people will need some form of postsecondary education to find a living-wage job. But if we can’t make it easier and more affordable for today’s students to get a degree, we’re hurting our economy and leaving too many people behind.”

Tackling Affordability and Access

California Competes combines research, convening, and advocacy to lift up solutions to the challenges facing today’s students. It is also a respected champion for innovation in higher education to meet the needs of today’s students. Recognizing the state’s reputation on the national stage when it comes to technology, for example, California Competes recently developed a vision for how California can be at the forefront of advancing high-quality online education for postsecondary students.

The organization also is working with policymakers and the state’s higher education systems on how to reduce the costs of a college degree. In California, where housing prices are among the highest in the country, Dr. Jez said rent has become a huge barrier for students when it comes to enrolling and staying in college. Another problem for many of today’s students: the “opportunity cost” of working less—or not working at all—while you are taking college classes.

That’s why California Competes is a key advocate for solutions aimed at improving work-based learning opportunities, including apprenticeships. Other solutions for reducing costs and the time it takes to get a degree include “credit for prior learning,” which recognizes that college-level learning can happen in many environments outside of the college classroom; and “competency-based education,” which would award credits based on a student’s proficiency in a given area vs. time in the classroom.

“If we want to create a more level playing field for more Californians, we need to look at how to create structures and systems that are built around students’ interests and needs, not the interests and needs of the academic institution.”

Strengthening “Student-Centered” Coordination Across the System

Yet another way to reduce costs and increase flexibility for students is through more coordination across colleges and universities. In a state with three independent public higher education systems and more than 200 colleges and universities, it can be hard for students and families to make sense of the system and find the best path to a degree. That’s why California Competes is leading the drive for a “coordinating entity” that would break down barriers, remove inefficiencies, and make sure higher education in California is aligned around one goal: how best to support students to earn an affordable degree and move to successful and rewarding careers.

California Competes and other Haas Jr. grantee partners also are working on solutions that would make it easier to transfer from community college to a four-year institution. Last but not least, the organization has led the way in the development of an integrated “cradle to career data system” that illustrates how California is, and isn’t, supporting its residents as they move from K-12 to higher education and employment.

“We’re seeing a level of interest in alignment that we haven’t seen in a while, because people see the inefficiencies in the system and they feel that we need more of a focus on how we can all work together to lower barriers, reduce costs, and connect students to opportunity and jobs.”

A Call to Action

Dr. Jez said the time is now for philanthropy, policymakers, higher education leaders, and other partners to think differently about how to help more Californians reap the benefits of going to college.

“The future of learning is here. California must lead by example, proving that higher education can be both accessible and high quality when we combine our innovative spirit with systemic transformation.”