Over the last decade, ever-decreasing financial support from the state government has forced the California State University (CSU) system to slash the budget by increasing student tuition, cutting classes and relying on students from outside the state who pay more for their CSU education.
During this time, Chancellor Charles B. Reed – who recently announced he will retire as soon as a replacement is found – earned praise from his peers for his efforts to expand access to higher education and scorn from students and faculty for raising administrator’s and president’s salaries.
While we at The Pioneer acknowledge the massive cuts to the CSU budget placed him in a difficult position, Chancellor Reed’s efforts to fight the budget cuts and expand access to higher education have not been adequate in helping meet California’s demand for a highly educated workforce.
The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) reports that unless steps are taken to dramatically increase college graduation rates, California will not have enough highly educated workers to meet its economic demand by 2025, when “41 percent of jobs will require at least a bachelor’s degree” but only 35 percent will qualify.
To avoid the potentially devastating consequences to California’s economy, the PPIC recommends incremental changes to the CSU system which increase college eligibility, transfers from community colleges and total graduation rates.
Reed has taken many steps which are aligned with these suggestions. The Graduation Initiative set a goal of raising six-year graduation rates eight percent by 2016.
The transfer Associate of Arts degree was created to streamline the transfer process. The Early Start and Early Assessment programs help high school graduates and incoming freshmen enter the CSU fully prepared.
Unfortunately, these steps alone are not sufficient to meet our state’s future demand for college graduates; the CSU must grow to accommodate more students than ever so that California can continue to prosper as one of the biggest economies in the world. In this area, chancellor Reed’s record is not impressive.
Since Reed took office in 1998, the CSU grew by only 100,000 additional students. If the CSU grew at the same rate over the next 14 years, California would still need an additional 500,000 graduates to meet the demand.
On top of this slow growth, tuition has increased to the highest levels in CSU history. Students now pay nearly four times more than they did in 2002, which is pricing many would-be students out of a college education.
To make matters worse, the strained contract negotiations between the Chancellor and the California Faculty Association (CFA) has become so contentious that the faculty is threatening to strike in the fall if their demands are not met.
Chancellor Reed’s decision to increase the salaries for CSU presidents and administrators has only served to further divide the two sides and distract the biggest power players in the CSU system from attacking the many serious issues that need to be addressed.
In order for the citizens of California to continue to prosper, it is absolutely vital for Reed’s successor to focus his or her efforts on expanding access to the CSU system while simultaneously fighting off further budget cuts and tuition increases.
To effectively do this, the next chancellor will need to see faculty and students as allies in the battle for California’s higher education system, not enemies.
Reed’s replacement must regain the trust of faculty and students by becoming a public champion for the CSU system against further budget cuts from the state legislator.
It cannot be stated that Reed’s shortcomings are due to lack of experience. After all, he was the Chancellor of the Florida State University System for 13 years before coming to the CSU.
But this experience was not enough.
The next chancellor needs to have experience equal to Reed’s but should also come with a different set of skills that enable him or her to think outside the box, and approach the issues as they have never been before.
Above all, Reed’s replacement must be strong, forceful, and diligent in advocating for the students – California’s continued prosperity depends on it.
