California’s governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, recently signed the state budget adopted by the Legislature for the rest of the 2008-2009 year, and the 2009-2010 fiscal year. The budget plan includes tax increases and spending reductions as well as other things. But the thing that we graduating seniors should be concerned about, is the $115 million new permanent funding cuts for the University of California system included in this plan. These cuts will impact the UC’s by a $450 million shortfall (including the $115 of new cuts), $122 million in under funded enrollments, and $213 million in unfunded mandatory costs for utilities over a two-year period. Although the effects from this may not affect the seniors hoping to get into the UC system this fall, it is something to be concerned about. A lot of the UC are already impacted, and cutting their funding just adds to the problem.
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my friend and i were talking about colleges and she hasn't been able to get into this one class for 2 years ( she goes to Sf State) and now theres finally room but it might be cut b/c of the budget cuts. also its a class thats mandatory to take the high levels of that certain subject...
anyway, i feel like since ppl have such a hard time getting the classes they want they'll just have to spend a longer time at their schools = more govt spending in the end.
As a senior applying mainly to UCs this scares me. If my chances of going to college rest on a budget cut, then my last 13 years of schooling has been a waste. Scary, does not describe this.
I looked for some reassurance and all I found was this statement:
"This budget proposal will have serious impacts on our ability to deliver on our mission for our students and for the people of California,” said UC President Robert C. Dynes. “We intend to work energetically with the governor and Legislature in the coming months to minimize the impact, to the greatest extent possible, on the quality, affordability, and public benefit of the University’s programs.”
I guess we will see how things pan out.
(source: http://www.instadv.ucsb.edu/93106/2008/January22/budget.html)
I was reading this article the other day about UC budgeting process that they declared in November 2008. It says that "At its November 2008 meeting, the UC Board of Regents approved a 2009-10 operating budget proposal for the university, which includes a resolution warning that freshman enrollments next year will be curtailed if the state does not provide sufficient funding, and also an amendment clarifying that the budget does not call for student fee increases but that such increases will be necessary in the absence of sufficient state funding for the university." So, i guess since the UCs did not receive the freshmen enrollments are going to be curtailed...is that true or did they get enough money?
In an article UC preisdent Robert C. Dynes said, “This budget proposal will have serious impacts on our ability to deliver on our mission for our students and for the people of California. State funding for the university is not an expenditure but an investment – an investment that produces real returns through an educated workforce, a dynamic economy, job creation and new tax revenue."
I completely agree with him. They need to cut programs and classes because of the economy and its state right now...but without offering unique opportunities to college students our future may be compromised and we may not advance as significantly as a nation. I understand that they are trying to find a solution to the current problem and save some money, but I also feel like there are alternatives that they should look into before cutting the college's funding.
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