The leftist Public Policy Institute of California (PPI) cites its own survey to suggest that the state fork over more money to help reduce the cost of a college education for students and dumb down standards for acceptance in the UC and CSU systems, as the number of college graduates is declining considerably.

At its current rate, by 2030, the dwindling number of college graduates will leave the state gasping to fill jobs that become available when baby boomers retire, asserts the report, which also states that California will have 1.1 million less candidates with bachelor’s degrees if certain measures are not applied.

Hans Johnson, one of the authors of the study, told Southern California Public Radio, “California’s workforce skills gap is substantial. But if we can improve educational outcomes, the benefits are significant — higher incomes for residents, lower demand for social services, and a more competitive California economy.”

The report’s suggestion for a more improved system includes:

  1. Increasing the share of high school graduates eligible for the UC and CSU systems. The report states, “Doing so would also improve access for students from low-income and underrepresented groups.”
  2. Rushing students through college as quickly as possible by providing “fiscal incentives to colleges for increasing the share of students taking a full load.”
  3. Greasing the path of students from community colleges into the UC and CSU systems by forcing the systems to make agreements to accept more community college students.
  4. Increasing the size of Cal Grants to students at private colleges.

In 2016, the state will spend $7.9 billion for community colleges, up about $700 million from a year ago. According to the Legislative Analyst’s Office, funding per full-time equivalent student would be $6,764 in the coming year.