California government is now considering major reforms in the organization of higher education, specifically dismantling the state’s independent planning and coordinating agency, the California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC), and placing it and the Student Aid Commission under a new position in the governor’s office, possibly a Secretary of Higher Education. This recommendation is the result of Governor Schwarzenegger’s establishment of the California Performance Review Commission, in February of 2004, to investigate possible reorganization and other reforms for reducing spending and creating greater efficiencies in state government. Some fourteen teams, divided into seven "functional" areas (e.g., education) and seven cross-cutting areas (e.g., procurement and information technology), developed recommendations for consideration by the governor’s office. This paper comments on the governor’s proposal and more generally on the appropriate structure for coordinating California’s massive higher education system.

The purpose of this report is to better determine the level of general public trust in public higher education and the content of published articles in the press that may influence and reflect public confidence. By conducting a six-month media scan of four California newspapers, an overview is provided of the key concerns and issues facing higher education today.