College Beat

Covering higher education from the ground up

A man with a hat on top of an RV to check the roof while it's parked next to a street.

Homeless students can sleep safely in their cars at this California college. Other campuses say no

Failed legislative bills have attempted to create safe parking programs for students to sleep in their cars on California campuses while awaiting housing. Meanwhile, Long Beach City College allows homeless students to park overnight.

By Briana Mendez-Padilla

A student writing on a white board under a banner for the AI club in a classroom.

California students want careers in AI. Here’s how colleges are meeting that demand

The governor’s recent deal with Nvidia will boost AI education at community colleges and open the door to similar deals for public four-year universities in California. Meanwhile, computer science programs are adding AI concentrations and majors to prepare students for a range of "blue collar" and technical AI jobs.

By Delilah Brumer and Jeremy Garza

Illustration of a young female basketball player hanging on a basketball hoop, surrounded by two crowds of people protesting; the left crowd is holding signs that have red unequal symbols and circles with a slash through it; the right crowd is holding signs with the trans and pride flags

How California keeps transgender student athletes on the court as bans unfold across the country

California is becoming increasingly tangled in the nationwide fight over whether transgender college athletes should be allowed to compete on teams of their gender identity. Just how much can state laws and policies protect its players?

By Desmond Meagley and Amy Elisabeth Moore

A person is seated in a wheelchair-accessible voting booth with a blue privacy screen, their legs and hands visible as they hold a pen. In the foreground, another individual, wearing a mask and blurred in motion, walks by, partially obscuring the booth. The setup includes a touchscreen ballot marking device for accessibility, and a storage room door is visible in the background.

We talked to California college students about today’s election. Here’s what’s on their minds

California’s college students represent a wide array of ages, ethnicities, lived experiences and political beliefs. Eight voters who attend a California college shared their perspectives with CalMatters on the issues that matter to them as some vote in local, state and national elections for the first time.

By Camelia Heins, Amy Elisabeth Moore, Delilah Brumer, Victoria Mejicanos, Khadeejah Khan, June Hsu and Lauren Bui

San Jose State University incoming freshman James Soberano, 17, plans to major in computer engineering and works in the student union on campus in San Jose, Calif., Thursday, July 25, 2019. Photo by Alison Yin for the Hechinger Report

Events

Is CSU ready for online learning? Watch our interview with Chancellor Tim White

Are you a college student whose semester has been turned upside down by the pandemic? Are you a professor who is getting acclimated to teaching your students via video conference? CalMatters College Journalism Network Editor Felicia Mello and fellow Aidan McGloin moderated a conversation with California State University Chancellor Tim White on April 2 to […]

By CalMatters • April 2, 2020

Higher Education

A’s for all? Universities debate how to grade during a pandemic

The coronavirus is disrupting college grading in California, as students stressed out from sheltering in place and transitioning to online classes push for schools to adopt flexible grading policies that account for the upheaval in their school year.

By Vanessa Arredondo • March 31, 2020

Laney College has cancelled all classes through April 6 in the wake of coronavirus concerns, while faculty train to teach online. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

Higher Education

California colleges are going online. How ready are they?

California is about to embark on an enormous, unplanned experiment in remote learning — and no one knows how long it will last.

By Vanessa Arredondo, Felicia Mello and Janelle Salanga • March 17, 2020