Whereas, the 1960 California Master Plan was a farsighted document that leads the global effort in higher education policies and provided three major tenets known as: Access, Affordability, and Quality; and,

Whereas, the original survey committee for the 1960 Master Plan for Higher Education included a wide range of higher education representatives, staff members, and faculty members from the California Legislature. Despite the team was comprised of representatives from the California Legislature, it was not fully representing all of the stakeholders, namely students; and,

Whereas, it has been 53 years since the creation of the Master Plan and there has not been a significant effort to partake in planning for the next 50 years. Despite the minor updates and improvements to the current Master Plan, the current state of higher education in California puts many UC students to reaffirm the vision for higher education within the state of California in the long term; and,

Whereas, the California Little Hoover Commission published a report on October 14, 2013 to encourage the Governor and Legislature to initiate a process to draft a new Master Plan. However, the California Little Hoover Commission included remarks that are not necessary ideal for students such as its perceptions on how online education should be implemented; and,

Whereas, on the issue of access, higher education in California is at a capacity in its ability to educate students with a deficit in available seats of 2.3 million by 2025; and,

Whereas, in the midst of excessive budget cuts across the state of California, due partly to the effects of Proposition 13, quality of education at the University of California has suffered particularly because of its inability to offer competitive salaries and benefits for excellent professors and instructors; and,

Whereas, the demographics in the state of California have changed since the 1960s and a new Master Plan must be created to account for these changing demographics to better serve the state and its population; and,

Whereas, the technology in the United States has evolved since the 1960s and the framers had no ability to charter the course of higher education with the current technology in mind and a new Master Plan must be created to include plans of use of advanced technology; and,

Whereas, there is a strong movement by students, faculty members, and staff members to have a greater and larger commitment to diversity within higher education in California, especially within the University of California after the passage of Proposition 209 in 1996 that put an end to affirmative action; and,

Whereas, the current Master Plan does not include diversity as a component of equitable access to quality higher education; and,

Whereas, K-12 education in California is critical in the success of higher education; and,

Whereas, the accessibility and diversity at the University of California was greatly impacted due to the State of California’s failure to fully support and fund K-12 education in under-resourced communities across the state of California, which primarily consist of people of color; and,

Whereas, the current Master Plan allotted to the University of California the top 12.5% of high school graduates that led to failure by the state of California to provide quality K-12 education, contributing to the lack of diversity at the University of California; and,

Whereas, students must be properly prepared and educated at the K-12 levels for a higher education system to function with the best and brightest students; and,

Whereas, tuition has been rising dramatically since 2009 in the University of California and affecting the students’ ability to stay enrolled in the institution; and,

Whereas, there is a lack of prioritization that focuses on benefiting the students in the current Master Plan; and,

Whereas, the Associated Students of UC Davis (ASUCD) Student Senate has passed a resolution to support the creation of a new Master Plan for Higher Education in the State of California on January 30^th, 2014; and,

Whereas, the Associated Students of UC Riverside (ASUCR) Student Senate has passed a resolution to support the California Coalition for Public Higher Education; and,

Whereas, the Associated Students of the University of California (Berkeley ASUC) Student Senate has passed a resolution to support the creation of a new Master Plan for Higher Education in the State of California by 20-0-0 in the Spring 2014 semester; and,

Whereas, the Associated Students of the University of California, San Diego (ASUCSD) Student Senate is currently working on a resolution to support the creation of a new Master Plan for Higher Education in the State of California; and,

Let it be resolved that, the Associated Students of UC Irvine (ASUCI) joins the force to support the creation of a new Master Plan for Higher Education in the State of California along with the Associated Students of UC Davis (ASUCD), the Associated Students of UC Riverside (ASUCR), the Associated Students of University of California (Berkeley ASUC), and the Associated Students of UC San Diego (ASUCSD); and,

Let it be further resolved that, ASUCI request the UC President Janet Napolitano prioritize this initiative to ensure the long term health and commitment to public higher education; and,

Let it be further resolved that, the ASUCI calls upon California state leaders to begin redrafting the California Master Plan for Higher Education by the end of February 2014; and,

Let it finally be resolved that, copies of this resolution shall be sent from the ASUCI Legislative Council to Governor Jerry Brown; California State Senate President Pro Tempore, Darrell Steinberg; California State Senate Majority Leader, Ellen Corbett; the UC Irvine Chancellor, Michael Drake; KUCI 88.9FM; The New University; The Orange County Register; and The Los Angeles Times.