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Inventory of the California Postsecondary Education Commission Records
R197, F3752, F3909  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Descriptive Summary
  • Administrative Information
  • Administrative History
  • Scope and Content
  • Accruals
  • Related Collections at the California State Archives
  • Indexing Terms

  • Descriptive Summary

    Title: California Postsecondary Education Commission Records
    Dates: 1960-2011
    Collection number: R197, F3752, F3909
    Creator: California Postsecondary Education Commission Coordinating Council for Higher Education
    Collection Size: 68.5 cubic feet of textual records, 291 audiotapes, 8 videotapes, 1 DVD, and 2 audio reels
    Repository: California State Archives
    Sacramento, California
    Abstract: The records of the California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) consist of 68.5 cubic feet of textual records, 291 audiotapes, 8 videotapes, 1 DVD, and 2 audio reels reflecting the Commission's work as the State's advisory body on higher education. The records date from 1961-2011. Those files that predate 1974 contain materials from the Commission's predecessor, the Coordinating Council for Higher Education (CCHE).
    Physical location: California State Archives
    Languages: Languages represented in the collection: English

    Administrative Information

    Access

    While the majority of the records are open for research, any access restrictions are noted in the record series descriptions.

    Publication Rights

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

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item], California Postsecondary Education Commission Records, R197.[Series Number], [box and folder number], California State Archives, Office of the Secretary of State, Sacramento, California.

    Acquisition and Custodial History

    The California State Archives acquired the California Postsecondary Education Commission Records according to state law.

    Administrative History

    The California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) was established in 1974 to coordinate public, independent, and private postsecondary education in California as well as provide independent policy analyses and recommendations to the Legislature and the Governor on postsecondary education issues (Chapter 1187, Statues of 1973). It replaced its predecessor as the State's planning and coordinating body for higher education. Its predecessor, the Coordinating Council for Higher Education, was established as part of the 1960 Master Plan for Higher Education (Chapter 49, Statutes of the 1st Extraordinary Session 1960).
    In the 1973 "five-year review" of the Master Plan for Higher Education, the Legislature's Joint Committee on Higher Education made sweeping changes to the state's education plan that included replacing the Coordinating Council for Higher Education with a larger organization with more responsibility and purview. The membership of the Commission was increased and strengthened to allow for the majority of its members to be representatives of the people rather than representatives of the segments or the state of California. The Commission's primary responsibilities included ensuring quality of education and cooperation among the segments of California's public postsecondary education system and eliminating duplication and waste of resources.
    Additional duties included the creation and maintenance of collection databases capable of documenting performance of postsecondary education institutions, administration of federally funded education programs, acting as the state's clearinghouse on postsecondary education information and as the primary advisor on postsecondary education issues to the Legislature, Governor, and other governmental offices and institutions.
    The Commission operates under a board of trustees with 16 members (Chapter 1058, Statutes of 1978), appointed as follows: 9 general public (3 appointments each by the Governor, Senate Rules Committee and Speaker of the Assembly); and 7 institutional (1 appointment each by the State Board of Education, California Advisory Council on Vocational Education and Technical Training, Council for Private Postsecondary Educational Institutions, Private Colleges and Universities, University of California Regents, California State University Trustees, and the California Community College Board of Governors).
    The Commission closed its doors on November 18, 2011 following the line item veto of its 2011-2012 fiscal year funding by Governor Brown.

    Scope and Content

    The records of the California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) consist of 68.5 cubic feet of textual records, 291 audiotapes, 8 videotapes, 1 DVD, and 2 audio reels reflecting the Commission's work as the State's advisory body on higher education. The records date from 1961-2011. Those files that predate 1974 contain materials from the Commission's predecessor, the Coordinating Council for Higher Education (CCHE).
    The records are organized into twenty-seven record series: Association Files, Administrative Files, Commission Proceedings, Legislative Files, Resolutions, Reports, Agendas, Subject Files, Community College Files, Faculty and Teacher Files, Student Affirmative Action Files, Student Financial Aid Files, Private Postsecondary Education Files, Roundtable on Educational Opportunity, Federal Program Files, Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education Files, Equal Educational Opportunity Advisory Committee Files, Expanding Educational Opportunities Workshop Files, Academic Program Review Files, Annual Program Review Activity Files, Intersegmental Program Review Council Files, Staff Reports, Agenda Packets, Minutes, Meeting Tapes, Program Review Files, and Chronological Correspondence.
    Most of the collection contains materials from the Commission's research on various higher education issues, policies, and programs. CPEC is the State's advisory body on higher education and they provide information and recommendations to the Legislature, Governor, and appropriate governmental offices and higher educational institutions. The Agendas, Minutes, and Meeting Tapes series covers a wide variety of topics which the Commission dealt with at their various meetings. The Community College Files, Faculty and Teacher Files, Student Affirmative Action Files, Staff Reports, and Student Financial Aid Files are research files. The Commission did extensive research in the areas relating to community college function, teacher quality and salary, minority participation in higher education and funding and kept a separate series of file on each topic. The Reports series is the second largest in the collection. As the State's designated clearinghouse for postsecondary education information, CPEC published numerous reports on a wide variety of topics related to California higher education.
    Most of the other files relate to the Commission's other duties. The Federal Program Files contain materials related to the Commission's oversight of Title I federally funded programs in California. The Private Postsecondary Education Files contain materials related to the Commission's responsibility to authorize and oversee the awarding of degrees by private education institutions in California, while the Program Review Files as well as all of the series under the Education Policy and Programs Committee relate to Commission's duty to review and make recommendations on proposed, ongoing, and discontinued academic programs at the State's public institutions of higher education.

    Accruals

    No further accruals are expected.

    Related Collections at the California State Archives

    Commission to Review the Master Plan for Higher Education
    Assembly Committee on Higher Education
    Joint Committee on Postsecondary Education
    Senate Subcommittee on Higher Education
    Assembly Subcommittee on Higher Education
    Coordinating Council for Higher Education
    California Department of Education
    Senate Select Committee on Higher Education
    Joint Committee for the Review of Master Plan for Higher Education
    State Board of Education

    Indexing Terms

    The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
    California Postsecondary Education Commission
    California. Coordinating Council for Higher Education
    Education