California Cuts Threaten the Status of Universities

Parents Forum
1

<p>Its getting to the point that programs/ campuses will be closed if a tax increase is not approved by Calif voters in Nov. - and fat chance of that happening. Parents , I'd think more than twice about having your student applying to a UC because of its past reputation or high ranking- for UG students in the UC system- it could get very ugly in short order. </p>

<p>"If a tax increase proposed by Gov. Jerry Brown is not approved this year, officials say they will be forced to consider draconian cuts like eliminating entire schools or programs. "</p>

<p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/02/us/california-cuts-threaten-the-status-of-universities.html?_r=1&hp%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/02/us/california-cuts-threaten-the-status-of-universities.html?_r=1&hp&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>That’s what the FEDS are for :)</p>

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<p>UC Merced could be eliminated entirely without many people noticing. The UCs could stop funding FA for illegal immigrants. They could stop admitting FA students to campuses outside of commuting distance from their homes in order to eliminate the cost of room and board. They could give preferences to in-state full-pay students. There are probably a myriad other things that could be undertaken to cut spending. It is easier to burden the taxpayer than make cuts.</p>

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<p>Can’t do that! That would be discrimination! puke!</p>

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<p>I think ‘Bay’ should be on the budget committee - all good points.</p>

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<p>You get what you pay for.</p>

7

<p>I think that UC Merced would be sorely missed. With the grade inflation causing most of the other UCs to limit entrants to 4.0, there are few UCs left that take the 3.5-3.75GPA student. Especially since the minimum GPA for a UC is 3.0, it is dismaying that most students that qualify for admittance will never get into a UC.</p>

<p>The CSUs are already limiting attendance to those in their geographic regions. My S was accepted to a CSU out of our area last year, but they offered no financial aid (unless you count a loan as FA, which we don’t) so we couldn’t afford for him to attend.</p>

<p>I wholeheartedly agree that it is much easier for legislators to think about raising taxes than actually making cuts. There are still many other cuts that can be done to help balance the budget, which they refuse to think about, such as raising the cost of community college tuition (it is still one of the lowest in the nation), eliminating the ‘transitional kindergarten’, increasing class size, eliminating FA for undocumented, etc. In addition, there are many other things the state can do to make cuts in other, non-education, areas of the budget.</p>

<p>I am not in favor of the upcoming tax measure, but know that it will pass easily. We will face higher taxes and still have the same issues with education, etc.</p>

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<p>I think that allowing illegal immigrants to attend at IS rates is absurd. They cant get jobs using their degrees if they graduate. Its time to stop.</p>

9

<p>That could make UCB’s ranking even higher with more full pay OOS students.</p>

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<p>What the Feds USED to be for. Porcullus has been slaughtered and the carcass that is left won’t save the perennial spendthrifts. </p>

<p>After the feast comes the famine.</p>

11

<p>Fwiw, here’s an indication of what (some) Texans think about education funding.</p>

<p>On the Democrat ballot, voters voted in favor of three propositions.</p>

<p>Proposition 1 - In-State Status High School Graduates
Any graduate of a Texas high school, who has lived in the state for at least three years and lived here continuously for the last year, should be eligible for in-state tuition at state supported colleges and universities and given the opportunity to earn legal status through a higher education or military service.</p>

<p>x-In Favor 487,006 - 85 percent
Against 86,249 - 15 percent</p>

<p>Proposition 2 - Affordable Colleges Fund Tuition and Fees
“Because a college education is increasingly necessary for jobs that allow our citizens to achieve middle class lifestyles and become the entrepreneurs who create the jobs that our economy relies on, we call on the Texas Legislature to fund colleges and universities such that tuition and fees can be affordable to all Texans.”</p>

<p>x-In Favor 533,454 - 93 percent
Against 42,632 - 7 percent</p>

<p>Proposition 3 - Legalize Casinos Funds for Education
Should the Texas Legislature allow the people of Texas to vote to legalize casino gambling with all funds generated being used only for education?</p>

<p>x-In Favor 426,464 - 74 percent
Against 152,120 - 26 percent</p>

<p>On the Republican ballot, voters voted in favor of this education-related proposition:</p>

<p>Proposition 1 - School Choice State Funding
The state should fund education by allowing dollars to follow the child instead of the bureaucracy, through a program which allows parents the freedom to choose their child’s school, public or private, while also saving significant taxpayer dollars.</p>

<p>x-In Favor 1,173,761 - 85 percent
Against 214,173 - 15 percent</p>

<p>Editorial Comment … School Choice Funding cannot come soon enough!</p>

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I could be wrong but I thought that ALL students who qualified for a UC would be accepted to one of the UCs. They won’t necessarily be accepted to the UC of their choice but they’d be accepted to one of them with UCR and UCM often accepting any UC qualified student.</p>

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<p>Xigggi, the absolute numbers seem very small. Is this a ballot that only Texas DEMOCRATS were allowed to vote on?</p>

<p>And that most dems didnt turn out for?</p>

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<p>Results are from the Primary Elections of May 29, 2012.</p>

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That seems ambiguous. How did they define ‘affordable’?</p>

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<p>Xiggis numbers are about as biased as they get. These were on the Dem primary ballots. In a primary where the president is uncontested, and where Republicans will likely want to stick with their own primary, as can be seen by the totals, this is a very small, and imho, likely biased sample. Dont know why she chose it.</p>

17

<p>California colleges are stressed to the max because tuition costs are too low. Period.</p>

<p>A 3-credit course at one of the UC colleges is about half what it costs at our local community college.</p>

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<p>Your community college tuition costs more than about $400 per credit unit?</p>

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<p>Of course, the root of the problem for public post-secondary education in California is that it is a less protected category of the budget, compared to K-12 (proposition 98 mandates), prisons (proposition 184 three strikes sentencing costs), and tax cuts and limitations (the few tax increases that pass the ballot box are usually special purpose funds), due to piecemeal ballot box budgeting. Basically, the voters are saying to the legislature that it must spend $X on this, $Y on that, and provide all of the other services that voters are accustomed to, but on tax revenue limited to less than what can realistically fulfill these voters’ expectations.</p>

<p>Also, the politics of economic and fiscal austerity everywhere means that someone loses, and everyone fights to avoid being the one to sacrifice something.</p>

20

<p>I cannot take a governor seriously who wants to cut the University of California system but spend 68 Billion on a pie-in-the-sky high speed rail between San Francisco and LA. </p>

<p>The reason people won’t vote in more tax increases is that they know it will be wasted on stupid projects or given to political cronies in the form of gold plated pensions.</p>

<p>A better option would be to give more tax breaks to people with children in the UC system to offset the tuition increases.</p>