Joint Committee for Review of the Master Plan for Higher Education Records, 1984-1989

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Summary

Title:
California State Joint Committee for Review of the Master Plan for Higher Education Records
Dates:
1984-1989
Creators:
Joint Committee for Review of the Master Plan for Higher Education Records
Abstract:
The records of the Joint Committee for Review of the Master Plan for Higher Education contain 7 cubic feet of Hearing Files (1985-1989) and Subject Files (1984-1988). The Master Plan for Higher Education was established by the Leigslature in 1959 in order to assign missions to each of the public higher education segments and recommended admission eligibility for each segment. Currently, the Legislature first creates a commission to review the existing Master Plan and make recommendations. The Joint Committee was created for the purpose of reviewing the reports of the Commission on the Master Plan for Higher Education to oversee the Commission's progress with the intent that higher education remain accessible, affordable, accountable, and of high quality.
Extent:
7 cubic feet
Language:
Languages represented in the collection: English
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Joint Committee for Review of the Master Plan for Higher Education Records, LP422:[folder number], California State Archives, Office of the Secretary of State, Sacramento, California.

Background

Scope and content:

The records of the Joint Committee for Review of the Master Plan for Higher Education contain 7 cubic feet of Hearing Files (1985-1989) and Subject Files (1984-1988).

The hearing files document the meetings, both public and closed, of the various committee task forces as well as the full committee. These hearings were held throughout the state of California between 1985 and 1989, primarily at college and university campuses. While many hearings were not formally titled, most meetings focused on issues surrounding community colleges or the drafting of both reports.

The Subject Files comprise the bulk of the collection and contain information on a variety of topics relevant to the committee. The files include additional information on hearings or conferences, material related to legislation, or documents related to committee administration. These files deal with a multitude of topics including California Community Colleges (CCC), California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC), California State University (CSU), Commission for Review of the Master Plan for Higher Education, demographics, minorities, and the University of California (UC).

Biographical / historical:

In 1959, the California legislature created a Master Plan for Higher Education. The original plan assigned missions to each of the public higher education segments (the University of California, California State University, and California Community Colleges systems), recommended admission eligibility for each segment, and stated its "intent that higher education remain accessible, affordable, of high quality, and accountable" (Legislative Analyst's Office, 2009, The Master Plan at 50, http://www.lao.ca.gov/2009/edu/master_plan_intro/master_plan_intro_111209.aspx ). While much of the original plan was codified through the Donahoe Higher Education Act of 1960, the plan, and its subsequent reviews, remains a working set of ideas and guidelines, rather than formal law. Section 66012 of the Education Code provides for the review of the Master Plan for higher education at ten-year intervals. The Legislature first creates a commission to review the existing Master Plan and make recommendations. Then, it creates a joint committee to implement its own review and to oversee the commission's progress.

Accordingly, Resolution Chapter 175 (ACR162) of 1984 directed the Legislature to establish a Joint Committee for the purpose of reviewing the reports of the Commission on the Master Plan for Higher Education (Chapter 1507, Statutes of 1984). The Joint Committee for Review of the Master Plan for Higher Education was authorized to act through June 1987, though their final report would not be completed until 1990. Both the Commission and Committee were instructed to first submit reports on community colleges and then conduct a review of the overall Master Plan. The Committee held hearings and conferences throughout the state between 1985 and 1987 to consider the input of education leaders (from both the public and private sectors), students, scholars, and the public at large. The recommendations of the Committee's first report, Building California's Community Colleges, became the foundation of AB1725 (Chapter 973, Statutes of 1988), a bill that made substantial changes to the community college system. The report on the Master Plan was titled California's Faces...California's Future: Education for Citizenship in a Multicultural Democracy.

The eighteen-member bi-partisan joint committee included nine members each from the Assembly and the Senate. Assembly members were: John Vasconcellos (chair, Dem.), Doris Allen, Charles Bader, Sam Farr, Tom Hayden, Teresa Hughes, Phillip Isenberg, Bill Leonard (later replaced by Chris Chandler), and Tom McClintock. The Senate members were: Gary Hart (vice-chair, Dem.), Marian Bergeson, Bill Greene, Joseph Montoya, Rebecca Morgan, Jim Nielsen, John Seymour, Walter Stiern (later replaced by Nicholas Petris), and Art Torres.

Acquisition information:

The California State Archives acquired the Joint Committee for Review of the Master Plan for Higher Education records according to state law.

The researcher should be aware that, due to the roughly decennial nature of this joint committee, there exist multiple collections at the Archives which have similar or identical names. However, the records of the collection described in this inventory pertain only to the time period of 1984-1989.

Physical location:
California State Archives
Rules or conventions:
Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: a Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Processed by Kim Mitchell
Date Prepared:
© 2011
Date Encoded:
Machine-readable finding aid created by Kim Mitchell. Machine-readable finding aid derived from MS Word. Date of source: 2011

Access and use

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

For permission to reproduce or publish, please consult California State Archives staff. Permission for reproduction or publication is given on behalf of the California State Archives, Office of the Secretary of State, Sacramento, as the owner of the physical items. The researcher assumes all responsibility for possible infringement that may arise from reproduction or publication of materials from the California State Archives' collections.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Joint Committee for Review of the Master Plan for Higher Education Records, LP422:[folder number], California State Archives, Office of the Secretary of State, Sacramento, California.

Location of this collection:
1020 "O" Street
Sacramento, CA 95814, US
Contact:
(916) 653-2246
reference@sos.ca.gov
Website