UC and CSU Budget Cut - Research Paper Example

UC and CSU Budget Cut Introduction “A budget should reflect the values and priorities of our nation and its people” – Mary Landrieu During the administration of Governor Pat Brown in 1960, a survey team was hired to develop a higher education plan for California by the State Board of Education and the Regents of the University of California (Gerth, 2010). As a result, an joined higher education system was designed which specifically highlighted the roles and responsibilities of the existing institutions of the states i.e. University of California [UC], California State University [CSU, formerly known as California State College - CSC], and California Community Colleges system (Gerth, 2010). After the implementation of the California Master Plan for Higher Education, it was assigned a periodic review by the Legislature which was respectively collected in 1973 and 1987 (LAO, 2005). The main reason for developing this plan for higher education systems in California was to make sure that education is accessible for everyone in the states along with being affordable and of good quality (Shulock & Moore, 2005). Both the UC and CSU systems are publicly funded by the state of California and the amount of the general fund allocated to these systems are decided collectively by the Legislature and Governor of the state in the annual budget act (LAO, 2010). The budget is such that it supports a specific number of students enrolled in both the systems of higher education. The growth in the number of students enrolled is compensated by increasing the funding of the previous year to increase the base funding of each student. This base funding per students is known as the marginal cost of instructions (LAO, 2010). Even though a fewer number of students were enrolled in the CSU than given funding for in 2005-06, the number of students enrolled has significantly increased over the past few years and has become higher than budgeted for (LAO, 2010). Severe budget cuts have been made in the 2009-10 state budget which has resulted in a lower budget for UC and CSU than required. This paper discusses the reason why the budget cuts have been made to the UC and CSU budget and its impact. Budget Cuts in the UC and CSU System of Higher Education When the master plan for higher education in California was framed, it received much support and came to be very influential. The reason for this was that education is considered to be a significant part of a society and plays an important role in its growth. Moreover, the master plan was such that it provided all the student of the state, belonging to different sects and socio-economic background, access to higher education. Not only did it make education affordable, but it also ensured the quality of the education. The master plan for higher education in California has marked its 50th anniversary in the year 2010, but unfortunately, the system also faces one of greatest challenges it has ever seen. UC and CSU systems of higher education in California are facing the worst budget cuts in the fiscal year 2009-10, as they are receiving a lot less funding from the government than is required to run the education systems appropriately. This has had a very negative impact on the whole system of education in California. The UC and CSU has received 20 per cent less amount of funding than they received in the fiscal years of 2007-08, making the budget cut of 813 and 625 million dollars respectively (Newell, 2009). The decline in funding of these universities is not sudden as the funding has been declining on the per student basis from the past three decades (Douglass, 2010). Overall, the funding for higher education in the country has declined by over a billion dollars in the past two years (Douglass, 2010), and the higher education systems in California are no exceptions. Currently, the state of California is at least short of 24 billion dollars due to which budget cuts of 15 billion dollars will be made in the social programs and public education alone (Matinez, 2009). This has angered many students and has resulted in many protests. The impact of these budget cuts should have been first determined before making them. Why the Budget Cuts Have Been Made Budget cuts are being made through out the country due to the recent recession faced by nation which led to the downfall in the economy. The reducing tax revenue has made the situation worse as it is being compensated by reducing the funding to the higher education systems through out the country (Chea, 2009). Education systems are not alone suffering from the budget cuts but the overall shortfall in the budget has forced the governments to make amendments in the annual budget. Due to this overall short fall of the budget, governments have no choice but to distribute the shortfall all over the state. As mentioned earlier, the total shortfall in the annual budget in California is of 25 billion dollars, of which 15 billion has been taken off of from the social programs and public education. Whatever the reasons for making these budget cuts, it is the responsibility of the government to provide students with an alternative as the skyrocketing fees of UC and CSU are impossible to pay for most of the students. So far, no relief has been provided by the California government for the students which has made the impact of these budget cuts even more severe. The Impact of the Budget Cuts in UC and CSU The budget cuts made in UC and CSU higher education systems has already started to have an impact on the students. These cuts have had an impact on many areas of education and will continue to influence the overall education of the state. Students have already carried out many protests against these cuts in the budget but so far, they have not been able to influence the decisions of the state. The impact of the UC and CSU budget cuts can be summarized under the following headings: Enrollment The severe cuts in the budget has forced the UC and CSU systems to significantly reduce the number of students enrolled in the higher education institutes affiliated with these systems. The UC and CSU systems of higher education, that have 23 and 10 campus under their systems respectively, have responded to the budget cuts by refusing to enroll a large number of eligible students. The number of students that will be turned away by 2012 by the UC is 4,600 (Newell, 2009), which is shocking all these students will be the ones who are qualified for the enrollment. Both the UC and CSU systems have faced the budget cuts of about 20 per cent in just one year when, in fact, they needed an increased amount of funding as the number of students applying has increased over the years. In the fiscal year of 2008-09, UC enrolled 5,400 students than budgeted for (LAO, 2010). CSU will reduce the number of students by 10 per cent in the near future, refusing around 40,000 qualified students to take admission (Newell, 2009). The main reason for making these reductions is that the CSU has been enrolling higher percentage of students for which it has not received any funds. This will result in a higher number of transfers as the students who are not enrolled in UC and CSU will turn to community colleges. These students will face many difficulties as the many a times students are required to repeat a course that they have already done and because of the flawed transfer process, many transfer student are not able to complete any degree at all (Moore, Shulock, & Jensen, 2009). The severity of the situation is apparent from the fact that the CSU campuses announced that they will not be able to enroll any students in the spring term of 2010 (CSU, 2009). This will result in a reduced number of graduates every year. More students will be more disappointed every year as they will be denied admission in their desired course. Some may even lose the motivation to study further as enrollment is not the only issue bothering the students, but they also have to pay a high fees. Higher Fees “Not only are we shutting people out of the university cause we’re not funding the institutions, but now we’re piling barrier upon barrier upon barrier on all those kids whose families are not going to be able to pay the extra fees”, said the President of CFA, Lillian Taiz (Morales, 2009). These words describe the horrible situation the state of California is in perfectly. The budget cuts in the UC and CSU systems has forced these institutions to increase hundred of dollars in their fees, making it harder for the member of a house with average income to attain higher education. The increase in the annual fees of UC and CSU is shocking compared to fees that was charged initially by these institutions. The annual fees charged by the UC in 1960 was 145 dollars, in 1990 it was 2000 dollars, and dramatically increased to 9,896 in the year 2010 (Olson & Klampe, 2010). Similarly, the annual fees charged by the CSU was 105 dollars in 1965 which rose to 2000 dollars in 1995, but now its 4,293 dollars (Olson & Klampe, 2010). This increase in fees can have a very negative impact on many students. There is a larger number of students who cannot afford to pay the increased fees as their parents are not that well off. This will result in discrimination as only the students who are wealthy will be able to attend UC and CSU while other will be denied admission on the basis of their financial background. This will result in frustration among the less fortunate which can lead to a nationwide protest. Quality and faculty The reduced funding of UC and CSU has also had an adverse effect on the quality of education in these institutions as more and more faculty members are leaving their job for other jobs that offer them more income. This is due to the fact that to maintain the budget of these institution they don’t only have to reduce the number of students enrolled, increase their fees, but they also have to cut back the income of their faculty members and decrease the number of courses offered. The UC office has already cancelled all the bonuses along with restricting the travel, hiring, and purchasing of equipments at its campuses (Newell, 2009). Moreover, UC has already fired around 1,900 employees and has also terminated 3,800 positions at different institutions (Newell, 2009). The size of the classroom has also been increased to accommodate more students in a single lecture, which has also increased the pressure on the faculty members and taken away opportunities from students to seek counselling. Sacrificing the quality of education is perhaps the worst of all as the students of UC and CSU will not be able to compete with other students who have received quality education. This is very unfair on the par of the government as the will not be able to provide students with quality education even after charging them extra fees. Conclusion The budget cuts in the UC and CSU systems have had a severe impact on the whole higher education system in the state of California. It has put a question to the master plan designed in to ensure better education at a lower price. The decrease in the funding of UC and CSU has put the students in a terrible position where they have to pay more fees to receive lower quality of education. The future seems bleak as students belonging to middle class families will not be able to afford higher education and will be forced to transfer to community colleges. Moreover, the number of graduates produced annually will also decrease which can have a severe impact on the economy of the state as the competitors are spending more on their education systems and producing more and more graduates each year. References Chea, T. (2009, May 8). Will budget cuts cripple California colleges. Retrieved November 10, 2010, from USA Today: http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-08-05-california-colleges_N.htm CSU. (2009, July 9). Lowering Enrollment. Retrieved November 10, 2010, from California State university, Fullerton: http://calstate.fullerton.edu/news/Inside/2009/spring-enrollment-closed.html Douglass, J. A. (2010, October). Re-Imagining California higher education. Retrieved November 10, 2010, from Center for Studies in higher Education: http://cshe.berkeley.edu/publications/docs/ROPS.Douglass.ReImaginingCalHE.10.25.10.pdf Gerth, D. R. (2010). The People's University: A History of the California State University. University of Califorenia, Institute of Governmental Studies. LAO. (2005, February 22). Overview of California's Master Plan for Higher Education. Retrieved November 10, 2010, from California State Assembly: http://www.assembly.ca.gov/acs/committee/c11/hearing_docs/informational_hearings/Hearing_02-22-05_Docs/Master_Plan_Overview.pdf LAO. (2010). UC and CSU Enrollment and Access. Retrieved November 10, 2010, from Legislative Analysts's Office: http://www.lao.ca.gov/analysis_2009/highered/highered_anl09003003.aspx Matinez, K. (2009, June 5). Public education devastated by California budget cuts. Retrieved November 10, 2010, from World's Socialist Web Site: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/jun2009/cali-j05.shtml Moore, C., Shulock, N., & Jensen, C. (2009). Crafting a student-centered transfer process in California: Lessons from other states. Sacramento, CA: Institute for Higher Education Leadership and Policy. Morales, C. (2009, May 6). UC, CSU students brace for budget cuts fallout. Retrieved November 10, 2010, from SF Public Press: http://sfpublicpress.org/news/2009-05/uc-csu-students-brace-for-budget-cuts-fallout Newell, M. (2009). Higher education budget cuts: How are they affecting students. Published online: CPEC. Olson, D., & Klampe, M. L. (2010, April 25). California's iconic master plan for higher education is in peril. Retrieved November 10, 2010, from The Press-Enterprise: http://www.pe.com/localnews/sbcounty/stories/PE_News_Local_W_masterplan26.3c77ba.html Shulock, N., & Moore, C. (2005). Diminishes access to the baccalaureate for low-income and minority students in California: The impact of budget and capacity constraints on the transfer function. Educational Policy, 19[2] , 418-442. Read More