Reuters – Kayla Nick-Kearney
” Insufficient funding and tighter admissions standards have made it too hard for California high school students to win admission to the state’s public university system, a new report says. The report by the Campaign for College Opportunity comes as the California State University system and the 10-campus University of California promise to make room for more in-state students as businesses in the state prepare for an anticipated shortage of more than 1 million people with bachelor’s degrees. “It really goes to show how far behind California is in terms of sending students directly into four-year campuses to get a degree at a time when obviously more and more jobs require that level of education,” said Michele Siqueiros, president of the Campaign for College Opportunity, a Los Angeles-based advocacy group. Despite the job market’s higher demand for skilled employees and more students interested in going to college, only 11 percent of Californians between 18 and 29 attend four-year public institutions, the report showed.”(more)