In the latest PolicyWise (S3, E9), hosts Ellinor Arzbaecher, Mehek Kandru, Demetria Wack, and Michael Wiafe hold a roundtable discussion about creating a policy of an opt-out instead of an opt-in (application) to college for all California students.
“I’m proposing an automatic enrollment from high school to college in local community college,” said Wiafe, who started the conversation. Students could opt-out for any reason, including having a job upon graduation, entering the military or planning to attend a four-year college. “Removing that first initial barrier to higher education would do wonders for the amount of students who are able to enter.”
The four hosts discussed the possibilities of automatic college enrollment and the benefits, including fulfill California’s need for 1.1 million workers with bachelor’s degrees by 2030.
The PolicyWise podcast is a partnership between Youth Leadership Institute and CA FWD and can be heard on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker Audio, RadioPublic, Pocket Casts and Overcast.
