California must produce 2 million more college graduates by 2020

EL CAJON – California will need to grant 2 million more bachelor’s degrees by 2020 if it is to meet the needs of its economy, says Assemblywoman Shirley N. Weber (D-79), who chairs the Assembly’s Select Committee on Higher Education in San Diego County. 

She told attendees of a luncheon held Thursday, Oct. 31, at Grossmont College that if California is to meet that goal, it must greatly increase the number of students who enroll in college and complete their courses of study. 

In order to do that, she added, institutions of higher education must attract and retain more students from minority communities, especially from the under-represented African-American and Hispanic communities.

Diversifying the student population and increasing job opportunities for all California citizens not only is morally right, it is economically right, said the Assemblywoman.

Scheduled to deliver an 11 a.m. speech November 7 to Grossmont College’s student body on “Higher Education in a Diverse Society,” the Assemblymember met ahead of time with approximately two dozen administrators, faculty and students to exchange ideas.

Assemblymember Weber, who had served previously as a board member of the San Diego Unified School District as well as a professor at San Diego State University, said she has read studies indicating that students who go to pre-school have a greater chance of making successes of their lives than those who do not.    Pre-schools help children prepare to take their places in society, she said.  If you want to prevent children from growing up to become criminals, she advised, “send them to preschool.”

Another important step is to remove barriers to completing higher education, Assemblymember Weber said. Students who graduate from community colleges, like Grossmont College, should have the opportunity to complete their educations in the California State University system, she said.  She noted that a legislative hearing on improving college access and completion rates will be held at Crawford High School in San Diego on November 21st.

The Assemblymember also shared the fact that ethnic studies have come under increasing attack in the State from those who feel they do not impart any useful skills.  She said she was able to persuade both houses of the California Legislature to place a moratorium on any efforts to shut down ethnic study programs until an impartial study can be conducted to determine what they contribute.

From her own experience as a faculty member, Assemblymember Weber said she knows that such programs are places where students of various backgrounds can find faculty members who understand them and encourage them—important factors in aiding more students from minority communities to be successful in their studies, to graduate,  and to enter the degree-holding workforce.

The Assemblywoman suggested that colleges and universities find ways to incentivize faculty members to become mentors to members of their own minority group. “If you are the only one in your family who has attended college, you need mentors,” she said.

 -DHH-