California Secretary of State. All rights reserved.
© 2008 California Secretary of State. All rights reserved.
Collection is open for research.
For permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the California State Archives. Permission for reproduction or publication is given on behalf of the California State Archives as the owner of the physical items. The researcher assumes all responsibility for possible infringement which may arise from reproduction or publication of materials from the California State Archives collections.
[Identification of item], Assembly Higher Education Committee Records, LP[number]:[folder number], California State Archives, Office of the Secretary of State, Sacramento, California.
The California State Archives acquired the Assembly Higher Education Committee records according to state law.
House Resolution No. 7 created the Assembly Higher Education Committee on January 18, 1991 out of a former sub-committee of the Assembly Education Committee. The new committee was formed in order to consider legislation affecting public and private higher education institutions. Primary jurisdictions of the Committee are university, state university and community college systems, private, postsecondary education and student financial aid programs. The Assembly Higher Education Committee's name and focus have remained constant since its creation.
In the years since its inception the committee's size has fluctuated. Tom Hayden (Dem.) chaired the committee of twelve in its first legislative session, 1991-1992. Marguerite Archie-Hudson (Dem.) succeeded Hayden and served as the Chair for an eleven-member committee from 1993-1994. Ted Lempert (Dem.) replaced Archie-Hudson and served as Chair of the committee from 1995-2000. During his tenure the committee's size fluctuated between twelve and fifteen members. In 2001-2002 Elaine Alquist (Dem.) served as Chair to a committee of twelve. Finally, Carol Liu (Dem.) succeeded Alquist and chaired a committee of eleven during the 2003-2004 session
The Assembly Higher Education Committee considered many bills of significant public interest because of their focus on educational policies like minority representation, student admissions, affirmative action, faculty tenure, financial aid, transfer policies, faculty issues, and university administration. Concerned with achieving equity in educational policy, the committee conducted several major studies of diversity and student/faculty representation within California's higher education institutions. Another focus of recurring interest has been the issue of "diploma mills" and legislative oversight for private and post-secondary vocational schools in California.
The Assembly Higher Education Committee Records consist of 31 cubic feet of records detailing the activity of the committee in evaluating legislation and policy related to California higher education institutions. The records cover the years, 1987-2004, with the bulk dating from 1991-1994. They contain bill files, hearing files, subject files, private post-secondary educational files, and correspondence files. As stated above, the Assembly Higher Education Committee was originally a subcommittee of the Assembly Education Committee. Although it was instituted as an independent body in 1991, the files include records dating as early as 1987. It is anticipated that the Archives will receive further records from the Assembly Higher Committee. Researchers should ask a reference archivist about recently received, unprocessed records.
The majority of the files concern higher educational institutions and policies. The Master Plan for California Higher Education (the Donahoe Act) and diversity in higher education are major subjects in the files. There are also a significant number of records pertaining to the existence of so-called "diploma mills" in California and the need for legislative oversight on private post-secondary educational institutions. Other noteworthy subjects reflected in the record group are: California Community College faculty standards and compensation, student financial aid policy, standardized testing, research laboratories oversight, education finance/budgets, restructuring initiatives, scholarship grants, work-study programs, educational technology, K-12 teacher training, and University of California/California State University Governance. The files also contain special joint committee reports on racial/ethnic tensions on California campuses, sexual violence against women, diversity, and minority representation among students and faculty in California educational institutions.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Marguerite Archie-Hudson Papers
Tom Hayden Papers
Ted Lempert Papers, partially restricted
Carol Liu Papers, restricted
Assembly Education Committee Records
Assembly Higher Education Subcommittee Records
Bill files are arranged chronologically by legislative session then numerically by bill number.
Most bill files include all or some of the following items: bill analyses, amendments and resolutions, author's statements, testimony, press releases, newspaper clippings, correspondence, roll calls, records of votes, and committee statements. Significant topics include the Higher Education Bond Act, the Master Plan for Higher Education (or Donahoe Act), the California Postsecondary Education Commission, the Private, Postsecondary and Vocational Education Reform Act, and the Cal Grant Program.
1991-1992 AB128-AB3751, ACA13, ACR36-ACR127, AJR17-AJR46(30ff) LP369:1-30
1991-1992 SB2-SB2033, SCR22-SCR77, SJR55 (7ff) LP369:31-37
1993-1994 AB39-AB3768, ACA11-ACA44, ACR63, AB70X-AB89X (28ff) LP369:38-65
1993-1994 SB46-SB1931 (6ff) LP369:66-71
1995-1996 AB2-AB3457, ACA14-ACA44, ACR30-ACR67 (32ff) LP369:72-103
1995-1996 SB4-SB2034, SCR66 (12ff) LP369:104-115
1997-1998 AB13-AB2813, ACR20-ACR81 (39ff) LP369:116-154
1997-1998 SB12-SB2223, SCR71-SCR92 (19ff) LP369:155-173
1999-2000 AB2-AB2794, ACA25-ACA61, AB2X-AB31X (33ff) LP369:174-207
1999-2000 SB76-SB1898 (18ff) LP369:208-225
2001-2002 AB16-AB3058, ACR21-ACR235 (52ff) LP369:226-277
2001-2002 SB43-SB2028, SCR37 (20ff) LP369:278-297
2003-2004 AB40-AB3064, ACA13, ACR8-ACR193, AJR3, HR40 (27ff) LP369:298-324
2003-2004 SB41-SB1875 (12ff) LP369:325-336
Hearing Files are arranged chronologically by date of hearing.
Hearing files may contain agendas, audiocassette tape recordings, video tape recordings, transcripts, testimony, background reports, working files for regular session hearings, interim hearings, and some joint hearings. Audio and videotapes have been moved to a cold storage vault for preservations purposes and separation sheets are in the appropriate files to alert the researcher to the existence of such tapes.
Hearing files may provide information concerning policies and programs considered by the committee. They offer an insight into some of California's higher education issues during the period covered. The hearings focused on a variety of topics including educational access, the Master Plan for Higher Education in California, student aid, educational technology, teacher training, higher education finance, workforce training, and diversity in higher education.
For a list of hearing dates and topics see Appendix A in Master Finding Aid at California State Archives.
Subject files are arranged alphabetically by topic.
Files may contain correspondence, background materials, newspaper clippings, notes, reports, opinion papers, and statistical analyses related to higher education issues from 1987-2004. Significant topics include: diversity in higher education, professional schools restructuring, University of California governance, workforce training, private higher education, and postsecondary vocational education. The files may provide information about the range of issues confronting the Higher Education Committee during the time period covered.
For a list of subject files, see Appendix B in Master Finding Aid at California State Archives.
Private and Vocational Education Files are arranged alphabetically by topic.
The series includes correspondence, background materials, newspaper clippings, notes, reports, opinion papers, commentary, and statistical analyses related to private, postsecondary higher education institutions. Significant topics include oversight of private and vocational schools, "diploma mills," educational fraud, and the Student Protection Act of 1997. The files may also reflect the problems facing the committee in its efforts to oversee and regulate postsecondary private and vocational schools in California.
Correspondence files are arranged chronologically
The chronological correspondence files are mostly related to committee and bill issues and are from committee members, higher education faculty, university and college presidents, constituents, chancellor's offices, lobbyists, legislative analysts, department heads, and other state employees.