Students for California's Future: News

January 18th - 24th, 2010

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No Room at College: What to do When You're Closed Out of Your Courses - The crisis is nationwide: Public universities in economically-distressed states (not only California, but Arizona, Florida, Michigan, and Ohio come to mind) simply don't have enough available spots in many classes to accommodate a student population growing at 4 1/2 percent each year. What should students do? Huffington Post

Students Face a Class Struggle at State Colleges - Welcome to state-run higher education in California. Mr. Macias is just one of more than 26,000 students at San Francisco State, and now educational opportunities cost more and are harder to grasp and even harder to hold onto than ever before. Mr. Macias’s experience of truncated offerings, furloughed professors and crowded classrooms is typical. New York Times

University of California applications set record - University of California campuses from Davis to San Diego saw dramatic increases in the number of transfer students applying for the fall of 2010, fueling a rise in applications statewide to their largest number ever despite steep hikes in student fees, according to data released Thursday by UC's Office of the President. The Modesto Bee

Waiting lists to be established at most UC campuses, regents say - The University of California will break with tradition and establish waiting lists for freshman admission as it copes with uncertain state funding, officials said Wednesday. Los Angeles Times

Community colleges struggle to stay afloat - When the California legislature finally passed last summer’s 2009-2010 budget, funding to the state’s community colleges was cut by $812 million, said Dean Murakami of the California Federation of Teachers (CFT). Additionally, over $1 billion in funding is being deferred until July so that it counts towards the next fiscal year. Martinez News-Gazette

Orange Coast College students can expect fewer classes - Students preparing to attend Orange Coast College this summer should brace themselves for uncertainties, including the possibility of a 50% reduction in the number of classes offered. It’s the result of a state budget crisis that’s changing the face of higher education in California. Daily Pilot

Students for California's Future: News

January 11th - 17th, 2010

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Budget cuts hurt chances at college - College applicants are facing one of the toughest years ever to gain admission to the nation’s public colleges and universities as schools grapple with deep budget cuts and record numbers of applications. NewsOK

University students plan day of protests and education - A coalition of California State University, Stanislaus students groups, known as Warriors Fight Back!, hosted a campus-wide General Assembly on Friday to plan teach-ins, camp-outs, and marches for the statewide March 4 Strike and Day of Action To Defend Public Education. Turlock Journal

The fight for public higher education - The changes to public education that are currently being proposed by many politicians and administrators include increasing class sizes, cutting student programs and using cost-cutting delivery systems like interim courses and all-online (distance) education. Merced Sun-Star

Educators respond to Governor and Launch "Fight for California's Future" - Governor Schwarzenegger is leaving a clear legacy – a legacy of saying one thing and doing the opposite. On Wednesday, he claims he is not going to cut education; but on Friday he proposes to reduce the Proposition 98 guarantee by $892 million in 2009-10 and $1.5 billion in 2010-11. The governor proposes to eliminate the sales tax on gasoline (which helps fund Proposition 98) and increase the fuel excise tax (which does not help fund Proposition 98). How does that protect education? California Progress Report

Colleges Cap Enrollment Amid Budget Cuts - As cash-poor state governments slash budgets, colleges are capping or cutting enrollment despite a surge in applications from high school seniors, community college students and unemployed workers returning to school. ABC News

California Weighs Priorities - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed a constitutional amendment to cement spending on higher education at 10 percent of the state’s budget. Following this proposal, Schwarzenegger released his 2010-2011 budget, which increases funding for higher education and restores some one-time cuts to the University of California. City on a Hill Press

State's Future Depends on Student Success - “Because our future economic well-being is so dependent upon education … we can no longer afford to cut higher education.” Those words were spoken by Gov. Schwarzenegger last week during his annual State of the State address. Overall, in the context of deep and painful cuts to so many valuable programs, the governor’s budget proposal was a win for higher education, which saw baseline funding mostly protected and even modest enrollment growth provided for. Daily Nexus

Fresno State to shrink in size - Faced with state budget cuts, California State University, Fresno must shrink in size to where it was in 2000, campus President John Welty says. Central Valley Business Times

Raising fees to have a fighting chance - According to the LA Times, a joint legislative committee has proposed that raising the fees at community colleges will allow for more students to attend college. The Roundup

Community colleges should stick to original mission - With the state budget crisis forcing California State University and University of California campuses to admit fewer high school graduates, there is a superficial appeal to the proposal by Assemblyman Marty Block, D-San Diego, to allow some of California’s community colleges to offer four-year degrees in areas including nursing, biotechnology, education and public-safety management. San Diego Union-Tribune

More Community, Less College - But students in California’s community colleges, whether teenagers just out of high school or middle-aged workers who’ve been laid off, are facing a new austerity. Classes are crowded and tuition is up. Although Freeman registered for classes a month early, he was put on a waiting list for three of the four he wanted, all of which were general education credits required for a two-year degree. San Diego Reader

Students unable to get into much-needed classes - As a result of the state's ongoing budget woes, class sections have been cut at a time when more students are enrolling. Redlands Daily Facts

Students for California's Future: News

January 4th - 10th, 2010

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State Assembly approves Obama education reforms - The state Assembly on Tuesday passed a series of landmark education reforms intended to help make California competitive for up to $700 million in federal stimulus funding under President Obama's Race to the Top grant program for schools. OC Register

Schools before prisons - In his final State of the State address, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said California must shift its funding priorities from prisons to universities, and The Times couldn't agree more. Los Angeles Times

Educators intrigued by proposal to link college, prison spending - University leaders on Wednesday lauded Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan to shift state money from prisons to higher education, but some experts warned the proposal is just bad budgeting. Contra Costa Times

Calif. governor wants more money for universities - It's an idea any educator would like: California's governor wants to ban the state from spending more on prisons than universities. San Francisco Chronicle

Potential Boon for California Higher Ed - California's public colleges have had a brutal couple of years. It'd be ridiculously premature to say that things are turning around -- but Wednesday brought them at the very least a symbolic boost, in the form of a proposal that could lead to more of what they really want: a greater share of state funds. Inside Higher Ed

What cuts? Gov. proposes college funding increases - In a reversal from recent years, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Friday proposed restoring hundreds of millions in state funding to California"s colleges and universities. Contra Costa Times

University students have mixed opinions on AB 656 - When a state assemblyman proposes a bill that could mean more than $1.5 billion a year to higher education, students at cash-strapped universities sit up and listen. Turlock Journal

Students preparing for competitive CSU admittance process - As a record number of students apply to California State universities, transfer and high school students are expected to see more difficulty getting their foot in the door this fall. Whittier Daily News

Community college students present 'demands' to Schwarzenegger - San Diego City College students protested at Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s San Diego office Monday - demanding changes to the state’s budget to offset the cuts made to higher education. San Diego News Network

Valley junior college campuses fill up, despite class cuts - Area students are flooding into community colleges for the spring semester even as campuses continue to pare classes. Fresno Bee

A new role for community colleges? - High school graduates who are shut out of California’s public universities by enrollment caps or escalating tuition could one day earn a bachelor’s degree at a community college near them. San Diego Union-Tribune

Students for California's Future: News

December 21st, 2009 - January 3rd, 2010

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Year in review: Colleges tackle reduced finances, increased access - The nation's colleges this year faced their worst financial challenges in decades. Endowments took their biggest hit ever — down an average 19% this year, says an estimate by the Commonfund Institute, a non-profit research organization. USA Today

Higher education in California should reflect the times - As the crisis persists, it's time for a new master plan that would streamline curriculum, bring funding in line with students' ability to pay and put UC, Cal State and community colleges in sync. Los Angeles Times

California ignores solution to crumbling university system - California’s college and university system has long served as a model for the rest of the country in producing capable, educated young people at a cost that was largely affordable for the middle class. However, the 50 year old “Master Plan for Higher Education” is sagging under the weight of budget cuts and rising tuition. LA Examiner

Let's show some initiative to save colleges' master plan - As a native Californian growing up in the 1950s and '60s, I enjoyed the fruits of the California Master Plan for Higher Education. I had the opportunity to attend a good California college and it was affordable. As a parent, my two sons were also able to take advantage of the same master plan, although costs were continuing to rise. Now as a member of the Joint Legislative Committee reviewing the master plan on its 50th anniversary, I've heard testimony bemoaning the demise of this precedent-setting plan that is respected and valued throughout the world. How could this happen? Daily Breeze

Restoring an educational gem's luster - Cuts are fast eroding California's once-vaunted system of public colleges and universities. Judicious change can address new realities while affirming the enduring goals of the state's master plan. Los Angeles Times

Educators face new challenges - After winning office as the nation's 43rd president, George W. Bush introduced a federal program, dubbed No Child Left Behind, aimed at improving education through higher standards and greater accountability. The decade began with ambitious plans for raising the bar on public education and student achievement. Contra Costa Times

News: Second Opinion - Saying they're unconvinced by bleak financial reports produced by university business chiefs, increasingly skeptical students and faculty are outsourcing number crunching to independent auditors, often with the hope of exposing hidden pots of money in cavernous college coffers. Inside Higher Ed

California State University Students Shortchanged by Cuts - As a portion of an overall strategy to address the unprecedented $584 million dollar funding reduction called for by Gov. Schwarzenegger, the CSU has imposed a two-day per month furlough for all employees, including management and executives. Empire Report

College cuts: The erosion of equal opportunity - After reading some of the comments posted online in response to the Dec. 1 article in this newspaper titled “NVC students rally to fight fee hikes, class reductions,” I decided that the least I should do is put pen to paper in an effort to bring some much-needed additional perspective to this issue. Napa Valley Register

Deep budget cuts challenge colleges - Deep state budget cuts coupled with increased demand, accreditation woes and the loss of leaders are some key issues that impacted local community colleges in 2009. Times-Herald

Campuses may expand offerings - Future nurses, teachers and biotech engineers may soon be able to take the community college route to a bachelor’s degree. SF Examiner