The California government, notoriously in debt, has opted to cut around 20% of funding, or $650 million dollars, from each of the state’s university systems. This fall, for the first time, the University of California will take in more revenue from students’ tuitions than from the state.
Considered one of the best and most developed state university systems in the world, students and professors alike will have to deal with less resources for more students. The funding cuts spell doom for everything from teaching assistants to library hours to a brand-new medical school in Riverside, CA, which will have to keep its doors shut for another year until it is guaranteed state funding. The schools are responsible for making the cuts themselves based on the number of students enrolled. In some cases, this means that professors who leave for better pay and research opportunities elsewhere are having their positions simply eliminated, rather than re-filled.
As for the students, the systems are more aggressively recruiting out-of-state for the higher tuition fees, taking the places of in-state students who are qualified. The California State University campuses in particular are forced to admit only the best and brightest students, despite traditionally having more liberal admission policies. Students are increasingly in need of extra time to graduate beyond the standard 4 years due to class size restrictions.
Not being able to get into courses required for a major means that they will have to be taken in the next semester, and essentially more tuition will be paid in the long run. The students who will be affected worst are in the middle classes, as those in the upper class can pay for school in full and those in the lower class receive hefty financial aid packages.
It is reported that the schools could face another $100 million in cuts if the financial situation of the state does not progress. Last year budget cut reports and a 26% tuition increase spurred thousands of students to protest.This time around there have been no such reactions due to the summer season and incertitude of the cuts themselves, despite a further 20% increase in tuition this fall.
Source:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/09/us/09uc.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&seid=au…