California Universities Face Heavy Budget Cuts Without New Tax Increases
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No cuts to education. (Yung GrassHopper, Creative Commons)
The schools have been forced to cut their budgets for years now, and with the prospect of even more cuts ahead, school officials worry about the quality of education they are going to be able to offer students in the future.
Timothy White, chancellor of the University of California, Riverside, said, “I’d be lying if I said what we offer students hasn’t been changed and that there hasn’t been a degradation of the learning environment.”
The New York Times reports:
“While there are more students than ever, the number of academic advisers has dropped to 300, from 500 a few years ago, for more than 18,000 undergraduates. Courses that used to require four writing assignments now demand half that because professors have fewer assistants to help them with grading papers, something other campuses have implemented as well.
“Nathan Brostrom, executive vice president of business operations for the University of California, said the system was now in the middle of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. In the last year, the state has cut $750 million from the system’s budget. This year, for the first time, the system receives more money from tuition than from state aid — but that only makes up for roughly a quarter of the cuts from the state. Over all, the budget is the same as it was in 2007, when there were 75,000 fewer students enrolled.”
If the proposed tax increase is not passed this year, officials worry that their ability to provide any education, let alone high-quality education, to deserving and eligible students will deteriorate drastically. There is a possibility that one of the universities may even have to be shut down.
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University of California Berkeley continues racket. There was a 43 percent jump in the number of affluent foreign and affluent out-of-state students accepted by University of California Berkeley. The more non-Californians admitted, the fewer qualified Californians can be. Fall admit rate for Californians drops to record low 18%. A shocking confirmation of inept Chancellor, Provost.
In spite of eligibility Cal. Chancellor Birgeneau ($450.000), Provost Breslauer ($306,000) shed thousands of instate applicants. Qualified instate applicants to public Cal. are replaced by a $50,600 payment from born abroad affluent foreign and affluent out of state students. And, Birgeneau subsidizes affluent foreign and affluent out of state tuition in the guise of diversity while he doubles instate tuition/fees. (Harvard is now less costly than Cal.)
Birgeneau/Breslauer accept affluent $50,600 foreign students that displace qualified instate Californians (When depreciation of tax funded assets are included (as they should be), out of state and foreign tuition is more than $100,000 and does NOT subsidize instate tuition.
With the recommendations of Cal. Chancellor Birgeneau ($450,000 salary), Provost George Breslauer ($306,000 salary) allowed campus police to use excessive force - rammed baton jabs - on students protesting Birgeneau‘s doubling of instate tuition. Birgeneau resigned: sack Provost Breslauer.
Send a forceful message that Cal. senior management decisions are unacceptable: UC Board of Regents marsha.kelman@ucop.edu and Calif. State Senator and Assemblymember.
Access, affordability to University of California Berkeley is farther and farther out of reach. UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert J Birgeneau is outspoken on why elite public universities, like Cal, should charge Californians much more. With Birgeneau’s leadership number 1 ranked Harvard is less costly (all in costs) than Cal. Chancellor Birgeneau’s charge much more tuition to Californians makes Cal. the most expensive public higher education in our country!
Birgeneau ($450,000 salary) likes to blame the politicians, since they stopped giving him every dollar expected. The Chancellor’s ‘charge Californians more’ tuition skyrocketed fees by an average 14% per year from 2006 to 2011-12 academic years. If Birgeneau had allowed fees to rise at the same rate of inflation over the past 10 years they would still be in reach of most middle income students. Increased funding is not Cal’s solution.
Public UC Berkeley is to maximize access to the widest number of California students at a reasonable cost with a mission of diversity and equality of opportunity. Birgeneau’s and Provost George Breslauer’s ($306,000 salary) ‘charge Californians more’ tuition denies middle income Californians the transformative value of Cal’s higher education.
A sad unacceptable legacy for politicians, parents, and children.
Opinion to: UC Board of Regents marsha.kelman@ucop.edu and Calif. State Senators and Assembly members.
i went to a UC school. The quality has not gone down at all since TAs teach most classes. Most of the money goes to research and getting high profile teachers. Also, building new labs and buildings for these high maintennace staff. They don't need to raise our taxes. Follow the money and cut the waste. For starters stop paying top bids on new buildings and structures. Unions rule on these campuses, the paying kids are second!