San Francisco Chronicle
Californias decision to slowly defund higher education is imperiling our public educational institutions in many different ways. First there were the staggering fee increases. Tuition at the University of California for instance has nearly tripled since 2002. Now the admissions process may be in for some big changes.
UC President Mark Yudof warned the regents last week that the moment is fast approaching when UC would no longer be able to fulfill its Master Plan obligation to admit all of Californias top students. The UC has already begun to admit more out-of-state students who pay higher tuition. Its likely to admit even more next year.
Meanwhile the independent state legislative analyst released a report last week that suggested limiting state support for students who have exceeded a certain number of units or who are repeatedly taking non-academic courses like physical education yoga dancing painting or drawing. The analyst proposed that such steps would reduce enrollment by 15000 students - saving about $60 million a year.
Both of these situations describe a state that is moving backward. California desperately needs more college graduates not fewer. By making it more difficult to both access and afford public education were disempowering the next generation and impoverishing the states future.
Yudof noted that UC has already shrunk the size of each entering class for the past three years. About 9000 qualified California high school graduates have been denied the opportunity to enter UC he said - and it didnt have to be this way.
Our chancellors project that with adequate funding the university could enroll an additional 20000 to 30000 qualified students - in this decade alone Yudof said. This is what we should be doing. But the level of state support has dropped to the point where we do not have the classrooms professors and student services personnel to match that noble vision.
No less depressing is the possibility for restricting enrollment at community colleges. These campuses are meant to be open to everyone over the age of 18. The design is meant to encourage a wide variety of people to continue their education whether it be for transfer to a four-year college or the chance to get a vocational degree later in life. Why must the community colleges be forced to make distinctions among the academic aspirations of its students for the first time - simply because California wont give it enough money to perform its mission?
In his budget proposal Gov. Jerry Brown was wise to realize that California can no longer afford to cut spending on K-12 education. But higher education is just as vital to the states future and it deserves to have adequate funding as well.
