Gov. Jerry Brown’s budget proposal boosts funding by more than a billion dollars for all three public university and college systems, although that’s not as much as California State University and the University of California had hoped for.
. . .
But that money comes with conditions. In exchange, Brown expects the colleges and universities to show measurable evidence of improved student success and a promise not to raise student fees. Between 2007-08, when the economy began to tank, CSU raised tuition by $2,700 to its current level of $5,472 for California residents. UC undergraduates pay $12,192, more than double the amount from five years ago. During that same period, community college fees jumped from $26 to $46 a unit.
Community College Chancellor Brice Harris called the budget welcome news “after years of budget cuts forced us to turn away hundreds of thousands of students.”
The community college system will receive a 11.4 percent increase, for a total state allocation of $11.6 billion next year. That includes an additional $200 million from Proposition 98, the voter-approved school-funding guarantee. The money must be used for programs to help boost the success rates of underrepresented students by strengthening and expanding counseling, orientation and other programs and support services.
“I would say that we’re encouraged by the proposal because it reflects the work that the colleges are doing to restore access and improve student success, and address the population that often seems to fall through the cracks,” said Beth Smith, president of the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges….
