The California State University (CSU) system is in trouble.
The constant budget problems, which have plagued the state economy have only hastened the CSUs freefall over the past decade.
Today, decision-makers in the chancellor’s office and the state legislature are scrounging to find solutions to resource shortages, tuition hikes and the state’s ever-increasing demand for quality, affordable education.
Next spring, most campuses in the CSU system will not accept an incoming class of new students, with the exception of a few veteran and graduate students seeking teaching credentials and of course, out-of-state students.
Out-of-state students fork over an additional $372 per semester unit over the standard California resident, roughly totaling $8,928 per year.
The hope, put forth in press release after tired press release, suggests limiting enrollment for state residents and mainly accepting out-of-state and international students will help offset the system’s overall debt.
The decision to once again limit enrollment is just the latest in a now long-standing trend of anti-student decisions.
The lists of cuts, compromises, fee hikes and failures within the CSU system over the last few years is far too long. Spring enrollment was frozen in 2010 and furlough days have been levied across thousands of staff members since 2009. Over $750 million has been cut from CSU’s state funding. Students are bracing for the possibility of another $250 million cut this November if Gov. Jerry Brown’s Proposition 30 to increase sales tax and select income tax does not pass.
Meanwhile, student morale is rapidly diminishing.
The credibility of a CSU degree has steadily declined as mounds of résumés from CSU grads sit on potential employer’s desks.
This trend is echoed across the nation.
According to The New York Times, quoting the Associated Press this past Saturday, “About 1.5 million, or 53.6 percent, of bachelor’s degree-holders under the age of 25 last year were jobless or underemployed, the highest share in at least 11 years.”
It is shameful our leaders continue to only provide reactionary patches and bandages to our clearly broken system. Where are the innovators who can learn from CSU’s troubled history to form a proactive vision for the future?
Our priorities are upside down. And time has run out.
California residents, lawmakers and CSU officials must now prioritize and invest in education.
Electing leaders who understand that creating an educated workforce that is not straddled with debt is the only way California can regain its former strength and reputation.
As election season approaches, we urge the entire state to vote for representatives who can find innovative solutions to the most serious problem facing our state.
