Newsom wants annual progress reports from California colleges

Under a proposal by Gov. Gavin Newsom, California’s public college and university systems would be required to submit annual reports to the Legislature and the governor detailing their progress on metrics including graduation rates, reducing achievement gaps and preparing more students for the workforce, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The University of California and California State University will be expected to make progress in those areas in exchange for annual 5% base funding increases over the next five years as part of “multi-year compacts” that Newsom initially proposed in January for the systems. A new addition to the proposal is that, according to the Times, all three of California’s public college systems would submit reports each November to the governor and Legislature outlining their progress on the goals. In addition to UC and CSU, that includes the state’s system of 116 community college system, which will also be expected to make similar improvements.

Unlike with UC and CSU, the governor’s January budget proposal didn’t tie future base funding increases to the community college system meeting its goals. Base funding for the community college system is determined under Proposition 98.

If UC and CSU fail to make progress toward the goals outlined by Newsom, that could result in funding for the university systems being reduced, though it’s not clear if that will happen. Another option, according to the Times, is that the systems could get more resources to help them make progress.

More details about the compacts are expected to be unveiled Friday when Newsom releases his May budget revision.