In the 1950s California led the way with an innovative and unprecedented higher education that would enable anyone who wished to, to attend a four year college and get a college degree. For the next half century, California had a higher education system second to none in the world. There was the world-class University of California system that would take the top tier of student and the California State University system that would admit virtually anyone, initially at no cost and but even to this day one of the best deals around.
If this is the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression one of the biggest victims will be the California Dream of an accessible and affordable college education.
CSU Chancellor Charles Reed proposed on Thursday a fee increase of $672 a year, this coming on top of a 10 percent fee hike in May and representing a whopping 32 percent fee increase in just one year. Worse yet is the fact that they will turn away 40,000 students over two years. That is 40,000 students who will not receive a college education. Indeed this is the end of an era.
And while the Chancellor will rightly argue that he has little choice given the reduction of CSU funding by over half a billion and at the same time argue that the even with the fee hikes, students are paying a yearly fee of just over $4000, a fee 50% less than the Oregon State University system, it wasn’t that long ago where students could pay for education for less than $1000 per year, not have to be saddled with student loans, and work part time to pay their room and board. Those days are over.
Frankly I worry far more about the students turned away while acknowledging the burden to students who had planned for a far less costly education.
Professors Christopher Newfield and Stanton Glantz wrote in a similarly titled Op-ed “Ending the California Dream” in the San Francisco Chronicle on Tuesday:
“For the last generation, campaign after campaign has cut back on government and rationed these opportunities. While most state government expenditures have been flat when corrected for population growth, higher education has been cut and cut. The University of California, billed as the greatest public research university in the world, has lost 50 percent of its per-student state funding since 1990, while still being expected to keep California at the top of the world’s knowledge economy.”
These professors argue that the college participation rate in California fell from 43% percent to 30% in just eight years dropping California from 17th to 46th in the nation.
“This year, Sacramento plans to continue the destruction. The governor’s budget proposes to bring two-year cuts to 25 percent of the already-depleted state general fund support for the University of California, along with similar cuts at the California State University stems, at community colleges, and at least 10 percent in our badly trailing K-12 public school system.
What do such cuts mean? All other things being equal, 25 percent cuts mean 25 percent fewer courses for more students or a 25 percent increase in the size of courses that remain. Students will learn 25 percent less, and take 25 percent longer to graduate. Because 25 percent of four years is one year, college will now only deliver three years of learning in four more costly years.”
They conclude:
“While they get less, students will pay more. Cal State has announced it will seek one-year fee increases of 30 percent. Such increases, burdensome as they are, are nowhere near big enough to fill the hole left by public funding cuts. Philanthropy, research funds and “efficiency” gimmicks can’t make up the difference, either. For UC to offset the current round of state cuts without resorting to planned furloughs, layoffs and service cuts, it would need to nearly double undergraduate fees from about $7,500 to $14,500 this fall. Future state cuts would require proportionate fee increases. The only practical way to restore California’s promise of having the world’s best public universities for the greatest number is to rebuild public funding for UC and CSU.
Some may say this vision is unreasonable given economic realities. The reality is this: Californians can rebuild the public higher education system that delivered golden age California, or watch that system be gutted in a way that prolongs the recession.”
Yesterday the Board of Regents voted by a 20 to 1 vote to implement the furlough plan. The one dissenter was Lt. Governor John Garamendi who recommended that the Board of Regents demand revenue from Sacramento through a proposed oil severance tax. “The cuts are devastating. I am not about to vote for these when we should be pursuing more revenue for UC.” Instead, Garamendi lobbied the regents to support AB 656, which would enact a 9.9 percent severance oil tax. Such a tax would have generated about $1 billion in revenue for higher education.
The one piece of decent news from yesterday’s furlough implementation came from President Mark Yudof who did announce that Cal Grants will continue at least for next year. UC will use $125 million in short-term accounts to cover state-funded Cal Grants for 46,000 low-income students. The governor called for suspending the program while the state grapples with a $26 billion shortfall, but President Yudof reportedly said he expects reimbursement. That will enable 46,000 low income students to continue their education at the University of California. However this is a small victory in a bleak war.
The Vanguard yesterday interviewed AFSCME President Lakesha Harrison. Some criticized her focus on the workers she represents. However, let us bear in mind that her workers face a 4% pay cut. That may not sound like a whole lot until one recognizes that most of these worker’s are barely getting by to begin with. Many are on public assistance, they receive less than $20,000 per year, and a number are either in poverty or have to work two jobs to get by. For those people, a 4% pay cut is devastating. So while I think in many ways the tiered furlough plan was at least an innovative approach, for the people at the bottom, any pay cut was going to be crippling.
The worst news is what lies ahead for UC. While the current plan called for between 4% and 10% pay cuts for the year starting September 1, 2009, there may be more cuts and fee hikes looming. Students will likely face another fee hike in January. Moreover since the labor unions need to agree to the furloughs, there is a possibility of layoffs and more cuts if the unions refuse to accept the plan.
Maybe all of this is only temporary. Perhaps once the economy bounces back we can expand our educational systems and fully fund them again. But the pattern in California seems to be more cut backs during tough times than get put back during good times. Governor Pat Brown created a public education system and higher education system that was unparalleled in the world, it might be the greatest of ironies that the task falls to his son making his second go at the Governorship to restore California’s higher education system to what it once was under his father. Right now that dream seems to be on life support and with it the hopes of dreams of so many young people hoping to get an affordable and quality education so that they can make a better life for themselves.
—David M. Greenwald reporting
“One of the biggest culprits” don’t you mean victims?
“Huge amount of students” don’t you mean number of students?
Man you need some sleep.
“Well I got down on my knees and I began to pray.”
Thanks grammar police–yes I do need sleep.
While Obama hands out billions of dollars in bail-out money, the states are not really seeing any benefit from it. Most is going to banks and companies like AIG, that turns around and gives bonuses to its upper management.
If workers don’t take furloughs/paycuts, it will result in more layoffs. Layoffs are what needs to be most avoided. We need to keep people working.
As far as the UC and CSU system, they have to take economic hits like everyone else. Not any sector is going to be left unpunished before this is all over.
I don’t see things getting any better, rather things will get worse, as we see layoffs breeding more layoffs. There is really no leadership at the topmost level – the federal gov’t. Obama hands out money like candy, but is not making sure that money gets to the states, where it needs to go.
Best Vanguard article yet, but then as a community college teacher, I’m biased. Since World War II, the California Community College system has been the safety net for the returning GI, the non-affluent, the “C” high-school student, the returning student, the job oriented student, etc. At $26 a unit (free when I went a hundred years ago), we’re still affordable, but that doesn’t matter, because you probably won’t get in anyway–we’re almost full a month before instruction starts, and that NEVER happens. For a lot of the high-school graduating class of 2009, the reality is no college, no jobs–no nothing. And no light at the end of the tunnel we have just entered.
I realize that furloughs are necessary to prevent layoffs, but an article recently in the Bee has led me to believe that the furloughs have gone a little too far. Apparently there’s a new wave of foreclosures on the horizon – state workers with good credit and conventional loans no longer able to meet their financial obligations. Just how is this supposed to be beneficial to the state? Honestly … just legalize pot, prostitution and gambling and tax the hell out of all three of them. We’ll be up and running in no time.
The State college system is the social escalator, ensuring upward mobility for each new generation. That vreates wealth for them and for the state. But the low fees/tuition never covered the cost of the college education- the taxpayers subsidized the real cost. Once again, we citizens have to triage and decide what we want to pay for. When it comes to community and state colleges, I suspect what we “save” there will be spent tenfold in unemployment, prison, and law enforcement costs.
How do we get legislators to think long term when they are short-term public servants?
[quote]just legalize pot, prostitution and gambling and tax the hell out of all three of them. We’ll be up and running in no time.[/quote]
Now there is a post with a good solution. Take the revenue away from the crooks on the streets and give it to the crooks in our state government. I like it!
While we are at it, release all the non-violent pot heads from incarceration and cut our prison and law enforcement expense.
How about this too… we tax all politician’s book deals and speaking fees at 75% until they croak and then we tax their memoirs at 90%.
someone said it,
meanwhile, obama wants trillion dollar healthcare. that is in addition to a second stimulus obama has proposed b/c he doesn’t know what to do. Obama inherited a mess but he is magnifying it ten-fold with his insane spending proposals.
obama is a real einstein.
As a lifelong student and also a teacher, I was amazed and delighted with the education offered through our community colleges. I would recommend them to any student, and not just the average or ‘C’ student. Transferring to a 4 year U. is usually not that difficult for students who want to pursue more in education. And like so many comments here, I am dismayed with what is happening in not just Ca. but the entire nation. One of the most frustrating aspects of teaching is that current students face dismal opportunities regardless of their majors, or achievements. It’s hard to foster excitement in an atmosphere of fear.
Resident, I didn’t mean to imply that community colleges only welcome “C” students–we get lots of “A” and “B” students, and they generally do better when they transfer than do students who go to the four-year universities as freshmen. I just wanted to point out that we also welcome those students who do not get into UC as freshmen. Sorry for the lack of clarity.
“How do we get legislators to think long term when they are short-term public servants?”
Do away with term limits?
“meanwhile, obama wants trillion dollar healthcare. that is in addition to a second stimulus obama has proposed b/c he doesn’t know what to do. Obama inherited a mess but he is magnifying it ten-fold with his insane spending proposals.”
This is exactly right. We need leadership at the topmost level. So much of our funding ultimately comes from the federal gov’t. None of that stimulus money is finding its way to the state and local level in any real meaningful way. Big deal – UCD gets three new buses. What good does that do if UCD has to raise student fees hugely, cuts classes and lays off professors. Pretty soon there won’t be any need for those three new buses.
“Transferring to a 4 year U. is usually not that difficult for students who want to pursue more in education.”
This is only true if you are in the top 20% of your junior college class. Not that long ago, Sac City Junior College did an investigation into why so many of its students could not seem to transfer to the UC system. I know my son had terrible problems – it turned out the UC advisor was giving all sorts of misinformation – which had to be corrected and resent to other similarly situated transfer students.
I second the positive comments of Galamba and others about California community colleges. They are one of the few really good deals out there for residents. Relatively low fees compared to community colleges in other states.
But Galamba also points out the regular irony in bad economic times at these places. At community colleges enrollments go up, but the state doesn’t provide any additional money for more classes to accomodate the added students.