California Postsecondary Education Commission

Administrative History

The California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) was established in 1974 to coordinate public, independent, and private postsecondary education in California as well as provide independent policy analyses and recommendations to the Legislature and the Governor on postsecondary education issues (Chapter 1187, Statues of 1973). It replaced its predecessor as the State's planning and coordinating body for higher education. Its predecessor, the Coordinating Council for Higher Education, was established as part of the 1960 Master Plan for Higher Education (Chapter 49, Statute of the 1st Extraordinary Session 1960).

In the 1973 "five-year review" of the Master Plan for Higher Education, the Legislature's Joint Committee on Higher Education made sweeping changes to the state's education plan that included replacing the Coordinating Council for Higher Education with a larger organization with more responsibility and purview. The membership of the Commission was increased and strengthened to allow for the majority of its members to be representatives of the people rather than representatives of the segments or the state of California. The Commission's primary responsibilities included ensuring quality of education and cooperation among the segments of California's public postsecondary education system and eliminating duplication and waste of resources. Additional duties included the creation and maintenance of collection databases capable of documenting performance of postsecondary education institutions, administration of federally funded education programs, act as the state's clearinghouse on postsecondary education information and as the primary advisor on postsecondary education issues to the Legislature, Governor, and other governmental offices and institutions.

The Commission operates under a board of trustees with 16 members (Chapter 1058, Statutes of 1978), appointed as follows: 9 general public (3 appointments each by the Governor, Senate Rules Committee and Speaker of the Assembly); and 7 institutional (1 appointment each by the State Board of Education, California Advisory Council on Vocational Education and Technical Training, Council for Private Postsecondary Educational Institutions, Private Colleges and Universities, University of California Regents, California State University Trustees, and the California Community College Board of Governors).

As of April 2010, the Commission is funded annually and its duties have remained the same.

From the guide to the California Postsecondary Education Commission Records, 1974-1987, (California State Archives)