Courage, vision, and realism. These are the hallmarks of anyone who has ever planned to deal with a problem of significant worth. In considering the future of education in California, this problem will manifest itself as a surge of some 3/4 of a million more students seeking entrance into the state's collegiate level of education. This surge of students, called Tidal Wave II, represents a problem not because more people are choosing to go to college, but because the three tiered postsecondary school system of California is in no way prepared to meet the demands and expectations of this oncoming populace. Although several organizations have attempted to put together a strategic plan by which they can accommodate most of these students, few have given enough effort to addressing the attitudes and thinking that are such an integral part of confronting a monumental problem like this. To that end, the purpose of this paper will be to explain the importance of changing ones attitude and thinking about Tidal Wave II in order formulate more effective policies and strategies that are better able to address the challenge s of this issue.

In changing prevailing attitudes about the impact of Tidal Wave one must first have courage. This means having the boldness to see and accept the problem as it really is and is reflected in the thinking behind policies and strategies designed to address Tidal Wave II. To the person who lacks the courage to really see Tidal Wave II for what it is, there is the temptation to underestimate both the size and magnitude of the problem at hand. But the courageous person can see Tidal Wave II for exactly what is, and still not be afraid to formulate policies that will address the entirety of the problem. Without such courage, any policy or strategy formed to address Tidal Wave II will inevitably lack the strength and boldness needed to work effectively and furthermore, will severely limit the next most important aspect of changing ones attitude and thinking, that of vision.

There can be little doubt as to the importance of having vision in ones attitude and approach to Tidal Wave II.. Vision may be defined as having the foresight and innovation to strategically and effectively plan for an upcoming event. With respect to this a person with "true vision" must be able to see Tidal Wave II from more than just one dimension. Not only should they be concerned about the numbers of students comings into the system, but they should also give credence to issues like how adequately prepared are these students, what major s and careers will they choose, and what kind of values will this next generation of college students have. These may seem like issues to be dealt with at a later stage of planning, but a person with vision realizes that issues such as these must be acknowledged early on or else it would be useless to talk about things like raising admission standards if in fact the bulk of your new applicants are barely qualified to meeting your existing standards. Having the vision to see these kinds of things at the forefront of ones planning can save precious time and resources that would otherwise be wasted as a consequence of ignorance.

The last critical aspect of changing ones attitude and thinking to effectively confront Tidal Wave II is to be realistic. The reality of the situation for Tidal Wave II is that some 3/4 of a million more students will advance into California's postsecondary education system in this decade. Though this may not seem very encouraging to people given the limitations and constraints of our current collegiate systems, in fact, knowing this information should be looked at as a kind of blessing in disguise. Because of advancements in statistical predictions and the collective research of organizations who have been monitoring Tidal Wave II for the last few years, we now have a very realistic picture of what this tidal wave of students is going to look like. We don't need to guess about demographics and family income levels for new students since we have known about these factors for some time. We also have a much better idea of what types of majors and career paths these new students are interested in. As such, having a realistic appraisal of the components and directions of Tidal Wave II will allow us to invest our limited resources into programs and policies that will meet the anticipated needs of this new wave of students. Without the benefit of a realistic gauge of Tidal Wave II, we would not be able to form a realistic solution.

Tidal Wave II poses perhaps the most serious problem to date for the state of California's postsecondary educational system. If one is to formulate an effective strategy for finding a solution to this dilemma, then one must look beyond mere statistical figures and monetary resources. In effect, one must change their entire attitude and thinking in order to be able to develop an effective approach this dilemma. Only by incorporating courage, vision, and realism into ones attitude and thinking will one be able to effectively formulate policies and strategies that are truly designed to address the varying dimensions and complexities of Tidal Wave II. Then and only then will Tidal Wave II cease to be thought of as a problem , and start to be realized as a challenging opportunity.