The California State University system will have a little more money to spend in the 2016-17 academic year with Governor Jerry Brown’s $151.8 million increase of the general fund allocation on Jan. 7.
But CSU faculty, students and administrators said they were hoping for more.
“While CSSA appreciates Governor Brown’s modest restoration to previous funding cuts, as well as additional one-time funding for deferred maintenance, this budget proposal is $102.3 million less than what Cal State University students need to successfully access and succeed at the CSU,” California State Student Association President Taylor Herren said in a statement.
The CSSA cited last year’s success with a fully funded budget, which allowed the CSU to enroll an additional 10,000 students and make progress on “the nearly $2 billion backlog of aging and unsafe classrooms and buildings.”
“We are pleased that Gov. Brown continues to reinvest in public higher education by including an increase in his state budget proposal for the California State University,” California Faculty Association President Jennifer Eagen said in a statement. “While we appreciate this investment, we also know that in order to meet the needs of thousands of California students clamoring to enroll in the CSU, even more resources will be needed.”
The Governor’s Budget Summary was critical of the CSU’s ability to provide a four-year-degree in four years. Cal State Long Beach has a four-year graduation rate of only 15 percent, according to Brown’s report.
President Jane Close Conoley said she is hopeful that state legislators will invest even more in the public university system.
“The time is upon us to renew California’s promise that every individual seeking higher learning has an opportunity to achieve a college degree,” Conoley said in a statement.
Conoley said that one of the biggest concerns is that CSULB turns away thousands of qualified students, citing that when students have a bachelor’s degree, they tend to make $1 million more than people who only have a high school diploma over the course of their lives.
The report maintained that student success was the most important factor when determining the budget.