PERSPECTIVE ON HIGHER EDUCATION : Equal Opportunity Disappointment : Increased costs and reduced enrollment affects access to college even more than does affirmative action.

In the heat of recent public debate over affirmative action in higher education, it is easy to lose sight of how state leaders have quietly turned their backs on California’s long-time commitment to provide every qualified high school graduate with a place in a state public college or university.

In speaking against affirmative action policies last summer, Gov. Pete Wilson said, “The parents of children of all races who play by the rules, who work hard and pay their taxes, should be entitled to expect that their child should win a place in school based upon individual merit.” We need not endorse Wilson’s position or his tactics on affirmative action to agree that he well summarized California’s longstanding policy of opportunity.

Yet the fact is that educational opportunity for Californians has declined significantly in the 1990s, even for those high school students most qualified for higher education. Although affirmative action policies affect many California students, higher fees and enrollment reductions by public colleges and universities have a broader impact on all California students--yet they have received little attention. These policies have discouraged college attendance and reduce enrollments in public colleges and universities by 215,000 since 1990-91. From the late 1980s through the early ‘90, 18% fewer high school graduates enrolled at a UC or Cal State campus. California was the only major industrial state with a decreasing percentage of high school graduates going on to college.

Further, in spite of spirited discussions at many levels about the quality of K-12 education, there is little evidence that California high school graduates are less qualified for college in the 1990s than they were in the 1980s. In fact, many may be better prepared. For example:

* The percentage of high school graduates meetings all college preparatory courses increased 14.2% from 1987 to 1994.

* Between 1987 and 1994, the “staying in school” rate increased by 8.8%.

* The rate of those taking Advanced Placement examinations whose scores qualified them for college credit increased 70% from 1988 to 1995.

* Since 1988, SAT and ACT scores at or above the national average increased 9.2%.

The enrollment declines pose a broader threat to educational opportunity than do recently adopted affirmative action policies. Higher tuition and deliberate “downsizing” by colleges have lowered the educational expectations and aspirations of California’s young people of all ethnic groups.

Recent neglect of traditional policies of educational opportunity bodes ill for the next decade, when more than 450,000 more students are projected. California does not have a plan or planning process to accommodate these students or to reverse the current erosion of opportunity. The 1960 California Master Plan for Higher Education has become irrelevant to public policy decisions, and nothing has replaced it.

The agreement between the governor and the Legislature to freeze student fees during the coming fiscal year is encouraging. It opens a window of opportunity to examine critical issues. But it is only a first step. Now these elected leaders must come forward to set the overall strategy for higher education. Only they can give the needed impetus and leadership. At a minimum, they must engage higher education leaders and the public to develop a plan for the next 10 to 15 years to accommodate all qualified high school graduates. Existing higher education structures, policies and practices must be measured against future needs.

This planning task will be more difficult now than in 1960. Today, more interest groups must be heard, other state services are legitimate contenders for finite public funds and the state’s economic future is clouded. Yet on the positive side, technology offers new opportunities and surveys show that California’s public and its business and civic leaders are acutely aware of higher education’s value.

The debate over affirmative action is important, but it should not distract attention from the long term problem of which it is only a part. Every qualified and motivated high school graduate deserves a chance for college. California’s future depends on the willingness of today’s leaders to face difficult issues and to articulate a new blueprint that will preserve the underlying vision of opportunity that has served the state so well over the past three decades.