Rethinking Admissions for a Changing Landscape: California’s Story

As institutions across the country navigate an evolving legal and policy landscape for college admissions, California’s decades-long experience offers valuable lessons for admissions reform. Since Proposition 209 effectively banned affirmative action in 1998, institutions and systems in the state have adapted practices to advance equitable access and student success.

On January 27, the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) and the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) hosted Rethinking Admissions for a Changing Landscape: California’s Story, a webinar featuring insights from IHEP’s October 2025 brief A Snapshot of Postsecondary Access and Opportunity in California. Panelists included Cheryl Jones-Walker, Director for the Center for School and System Redesign at the Learning Policy Institute and a former educator and Associate Dean at the University of San Francisco, and Janiel Santos, IHEP Assistant Director of Research and co-author of the brief. Together, they shared research and practitioner perspectives on how California institutions are supporting students in a post-affirmative action context.

Shifting the Burden of Admissions Barriers from Students to Institutions

The discussion explored the importance of reimagining the admissions process to better meet students where they are. Santos highlighted California State University’s direct admissions program as an innovative way to flip the traditional model by placing more responsibility on institutions to reduce rather than on students to overcome them. Traditional admissions often require students to decipher confusing application requirements and juggle multiple deadlines. By contrast, the CSU program proactively offers admission to students who meet established academic criteria and includes targeted outreach to students just shy of eligibility. The goal is to help students see themselves as college-ready and encourage taking the next step to enroll. Jones-Walker added that such approaches mirror the benefits of dual enrollment programs, where exposure to college courses in high school can change a student’s sense of what’s possible.

Strengthening Pathways Through Dual Enrollment and Transfer

California has invested $5 billion in programs that expand access to college-level coursework and smooth transitions into postsecondary education. Initiatives such as the Golden State Pathways Program, the California Community Schools Partnership Program, and the Career and College Access Pathways Grant (CCAP) support partnerships between K-12 schools, community colleges, and four-year institutions.

Students from CCAP programs enroll in college at a rate of 82 percent, well above the state average for all high school graduates (66 percent).

Santos added that strong articulation agreements between high schools, community colleges, and four-year institutions ensure those credits count toward a degree. Cross-sector collaboration, including feedback from college counselors and industry partners, can strengthen these efforts and ensure they serve both students and workforce needs.

Scaling Progress Through Statewide Levers and Data

Beyond campus-level reforms, California’s state policies and investments have helped scale progress across systems. Panelists underscored the critical role of robust data infrastructure and statewide coordination in guiding these efforts. In California, this has included aligning K-12, postsecondary, social services and workforce data systems through the Cradle-to-Career data system and supported tools like the CaliforniaColleges.edu portal, which can provide timely, actionable data to policymakers and practitioners.

“As much as institutions have a role to play,” Santos said, “states can do a lot to support that work: making investments, facilitating collaborations, and ensuring equity remains central.”

Jones-Walker agreed, emphasizing that progress depends on cross-system collaboration.

“We just have to stay the course,” she said, “but also become more creative in the strategies and tools we use and work across systems to meet that goal of accessibility and equitable opportunity.”

Hope and Innovation for the Road Ahead

Santos emphasized the importance of maintaining momentum, even amid uncertainty.

“The worst thing we can do in this moment is regress beyond what’s required by law,” she said. “What gives me hope is the energy to explore new tactics and the leaders—from the ground up—who remain committed to a more equitable admissions system.”

Both panelists highlighted the unique moment in higher education. “We’re at an inflection point,” Jones-Walker observed. “There’s an openness to innovate and reimagine policies and practices. It’s requisite; there’s no way around it.”

Their shared message to admissions professionals: keep advancing equity through innovation, collaboration, and evidence.

Watch the Webinar Recording

Read IHEP’s research brief, A Snapshot of Postsecondary Access and Opportunity in California, to explore the findings in detail.