Investment Patterns in California Higher Education and Policy Options for a Possible Future

What has been the level of public investment in the California higher education system, and how has it performed over the past century? What are the challenges that this system faces in the future and what level of investment is necessary? This paper attempts to provide an historical context to these questions to assist Californians as they once again consider how to expand educational opportunity. California now faces a dramatic new period of potential enrollment and program growth that will have a significant impact on socio-economic mobility, and on the state's economic competitiveness. How might the state rise to the occasion?