California is still a land of hope and promise. But as we look to the future and grapple with the financial difficulties of the present, we need to confront reality. And the reality is that California today is living off the investments of 50 years ago. The commitment to investment in our human infrastructure has waned. In my institution, the University of California, the state’s per-student investment in education, adjusted for inflation and enrollment growth, has fallen 40 percent in less than 20 years.

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by Mark G. Yudof , The Sacramento Bee.

Posted: January 4th, 2009, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.

Community college leaders are worried a California State University plan to turn away as many as 10,000 students next year could inundate two-year schools that already can’t handle spiking enrollment…Cal State leaders said they have no choice but to hope community colleges can be their safety net. The university has sustained too many blows over the past two years to maintain the status quo, said Trustee William Hauck. "There really are no more workarounds left," he said. With more cuts, "we will be diminishing the value of every degree that comes out of this system, and we will not do that."

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by Matt Krupnick, The Contra Costa Times.

Posted: November 17th, 2008, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.

The California State University system will eliminate 10,000 admission spots for the 2009-10 school year as a result of the state’s worsening fiscal crisis.

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by Walter Yost, The Sacramento Bee.

Posted: November 17th, 2008, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.

Californians rate highly all three parts of the state’s tiered system of public colleges: California Community Colleges, California State University and University of California. More than 80% fear the state’s budget crisis will trigger college funding cuts… Most Californians said they believe that California’s higher education system is vital to the economic strength of the state, and that a higher percentage of college-educated workers will be needed in 20 years. But they are dissatisfied with how Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the state Legislature are treating higher education.

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by Gale Holland, The Los Angeles Times.

Posted: November 14th, 2008, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.

More than 60 percent rated each of the state’s three public college branches (UC, CSU and community colleges) as "good or excellent." But California’s higher education system is in poor hands with the state’s politicians, people believe. Just 27 percent approve of the way Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is handling higher education. State lawmakers inspire even less confidence, with 23 percent of those surveyed saying the Legislature is doing a good job with the schools.

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by Nanette Asimov, The San Francisco Chronicle.

Posted: November 13th, 2008, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.

Schwarzenegger is proposing $4.5 billion in cuts and to raise $4.7 billion in taxes. Spending reductions include: $2.5 billion in education funding for K-12 schools and community colleges, the state’s largest financial obligation that represents about half of its general fund spending; $132 million in funding for the University of California and California State University systems…

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by Matthew Yi, The San Francisco Chronicle.

Posted: November 6th, 2008, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.

Citing budget cuts and rising freshman enrollment, faculty leaders at the University of California at Los Angeles have voted to suspend a seminar requirement for students in the College of Letters and Science… For their part, student leaders worry that additional cuts might be on the way. "It’s a bad foreshadowing," the undergraduate president, Homaira Hosseini, told the newspaper.

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by Caitlin Moran, The Chronicle for Higher Education.

Posted: November 6th, 2008, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.

"We now have a backlog of students who would not graduate unless we could offer many, many more seminars. And we just don’t have the resources to do that," said Judith Smith, vice provost for undergraduate education… The backlog of seniors fulfilling the seminar requirement caused difficulties for younger students. Some seniors met the rule at the last minute by taking small writing courses. However, that shift took space from underclassmen who need those courses for another requirement, officials said. At the same time, the writing program is anticipating that it may have to eliminate 30 of its 220 sections because of budget cuts, according to its director, Bruce Beiderwell.

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by Larry Gordon, The Los Angeles Times.

Posted: November 5th, 2008, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.

…loss of endowment income, reduced research funding and an increase in needy students has created what Hennessy called "perhaps the tightest financial outlook we have seen in decades.’" Stanford is not alone – across the nation, universities are planning major belt-tightening. For the University of California and California State University, the state’s deteriorating budget situation has forced immediate cuts to its 2008-2009 budget – and additional reductions are envisioned for next year.

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by Lisa M. Krieger, The San Jose Mercury News.

Posted: November 1st, 2008, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.

The campus, with 17,000 students, has more students than it is funded to serve, Bee said… Chico State had a compact with the governor to increase enrollment, but due to funding cuts, that fell through, Bee said. It’s not fair to have so many students that existing students can’t get classes, he said.

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by Heather Hacking, The Chico Enterprise Record.

Posted: October 30th, 2008, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.