California’s colleges and universities have been hit hard by state budget cuts, and the schools have compensated by cutting courses, laying off professors, raising tuition and fees and enrolling fewer students. Ballot proposals to cut higher education would seem to make the problems worse. 

If voters decide against the ballot measures Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is asking Californians to pass during a special election on May 19, he is proposing higher education cuts that would start at $3 billion and rise to $5.3 billion. The governor is proposing the cuts in an attempt to close the state’s $42.5 billion gap, which is the largest state budget gap in U.S. history.

Whether or not the propositions are approved, public universities will face large budget cuts. The University of California system will face a $240 million reduction if the proposition is approved. If it is not approved, the reduction will rise to $322 million. California State University (CSU) Chancellor Charles B. Reed said the school’s system could potentially face the equivalent of reducing enrollment by 50,000 students and laying off between 4,000-5,000 employees.

To compensate, schools have made drastic changes. San Jose State University had to turn away more than 4,000 qualified applicants. Trustees from the CSU system approved a 10 percent hike in student fees by a 17-2 vote on Wednesday to offset large state cuts in funding. Board of Trustees Chairman Jeffery Bleich said the fee increase was the only way for the university system to deal with the budget cuts without turning away students or eliminating teaching positions.

This increase was the sixth fee hike in seven years for the 23-campus university system. Last week, the UC system raised their tuition fees by 9.3 percent. Nationwide, tuition and fees and public four-universities rose to 6.4 percent in the past year.

Community colleges have also been hit hard, affecting the two-thirds of California’s first-time higher education students who start at a community college.  More than 100 summer classes were cut at Santa Ana College.  Despite the surge in enrollment at many community colleges, California Community Colleges Chancellor Jack Scott said hundreds of classes taught by part-time instructors would be canceled. 

Schwarzenegger’s proposal would cut a minimum of more than $516 million to community colleges that will not receive any federal stimulus money. The share of the cuts at the Kern Community College District alone would be $12.6 billion. Additionally, both university systems’ outreach programs could see $50 million in cuts and a reduction in students who qualify for financial aid while eligible students would receive less.

Our Take

The San Jose Mercury News wrote that ”the failure of statewide ballot propositions Tuesday means the 110-college system will face hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts in the next year. The cutbacks come at a time when the recession and unemployment have greatly increased demand for the two-year schools. The last time per-student funding dropped this low was 1982, said Scott Lay, president of the Community College League of California. He estimated at least 250,000 students will be turned away from the colleges, which are designed to serve nearly any resident who wants to attend.”

The community college system in California, which caters to approximately 2.7 million students, has traditionally received less money per student than the state university, or even K-12, systems. However, due to the economy, more and more students are looking to attend community colleges, which are cheaper. They are expecting growth by as much as 33% this coming year.

However, with the state facing the largest state budget gap in the history of the United States, some sacrifices need to be made. However, the community college system has been chronically underfunded for years, and the proposed cuts will only deepen the problem.