Defunding Higher Education What Are the Effects on College Enrollment?

California’s financial commitment to higher education has been compromised by fiscal crises and competing state priorities. Despite large increases in the demand for higher education, state general fund spending in this area has declined notably over the past ten years. California now spends more on corrections than on its public universities. This report examines the effects of this disinvestment on the enrollment rates of recent high school graduates at the University of California (UC), the California State University (CSU), and the California Community Colleges.