A new report from Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE) highlights UC Davis’ leadership in strengthening connections between education systems and workforce opportunities across Northern California.
Through the work of Inclusive Excellence staff, UC Davis has led the university’s participation in the statewide K–16 Education Collaborative, coordinating partnerships across the Sacramento region, North State and Redwood Coast. This work brings together K–12 schools, community colleges, universities and industry partners to create clearer, more aligned pathways from education to high-demand careers including health care, education and engineering.
The report finds that intentional coordination across these partners is helping address long-standing gaps between education systems. By mapping transitions, improving data sharing and expanding dual enrollment opportunities, the collaboratives are making it easier for students to move successfully from one stage of their education to the next.
UC Davis’ unique role across three regions has helped align efforts at scale, supporting nearly 900,000 students across 22 counties, including rural and tribal communities.
Together, these partnerships are building a more connected and responsive education ecosystem that supports student success, strengthens workforce development and advances economic mobility.
Read the full report: https://edpolicyinca.org/publications/k-16-partnerships
The region’s most ambitious education-to-career pipeline initiative is accelerating — and UC Davis is a big part of it.
The Sacramento K-16 Collaborative recently announced significant expansion of its regional data partnership: what began on October 8, 2024 with five founding institutions now is growing to include ten additional partners (pending final authorization), bringing the total to 15 institutions collectively serving more than 220,000 students across the Capital Region.
UC Davis students are uncovering hidden stories from Yolo County’s past, highlighting a little-known Black community in Woodland that thrived in the mid-1800s through the early 1900s. Through research led by Associate Professor Cecilia Tsu and a team of undergraduate and graduate students, the project documented the lives of formerly enslaved individuals and their descendants, preserving photographs, maps, court records, and personal histories.
Ron Austin’s UC Davis degree—earned 47 years after his first class—shows what’s possible with the right support. His story is helping inspire a regional “Comebacker Campaign,” part of the K–16 Regional Education Collaborative grant that includes UC Davis. Through this effort, partners across the region are building clearer, more connected pathways for returning students of all ages to complete their education and advance their careers.
University of California, Davis was one of only 10 universities in the U.S. to recently be recognized with an Institutional Excellence in DEIA in Biomedical and Behavioral Research Prize Competition from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
