CSU Budget Priorities for Academic Year 2005-06

AS-2654-04/FGA - March 11-12, 2004

RESOLVED: That the Academic Senate of the California State University (CSU) request that the Governor and California Legislature leave responsibility for allocating reductions within the CSU budget to the Board of Trustees and the Chancellor after consultation with the Academic Senate CSU and other constituencies through the System Budget Advisory Committee (SBAC), rather than mandate specific or targeted cuts; and be it further

RESOLVED: That the Academic Senate CSU urge the CSU Board of Trustees to secure funding that will ensure authentic access to a high quality education for those students admitted to the CSU and to limit enrollment to the number of students for whom the state has provided funding at the true cost, as opposed to the marginal cost level; and be it further

RESOLVED: That to assure high quality education, the Academic Senate CSU urge the CSU Board of Trustees secure funding to reduce student/faculty ratios to their pre-1990 levels, and to provide and maintain adequate technology and library acquisitions to accomplish our educational mission; and be it further

RESOLVED: That to assure high quality education, the Academic Senate CSU urge the CSU Board of Trustees secure funding to bring faculty salaries up to the level of California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) comparison universities and to secure funding to implement the recommendation of the Assembly Concurrent Resolution (ACR) 73 Task Force; and be it further

RESOLVED: That the Chancellor and Board of Trustees consult with the executive committee of the Academic Senate CSU and the SBAC during the summer of 2004 when developing the proposed CSU budget for 2005-06; and be it further

RESOLVED: That this resolution be forwarded to the Governor, the leadership of the Legislature, the Chancellor, and the Board of Trustees.

RATIONALE: Specified and/or targeted budget reductions often have unintended and adverse consequences. Campuses are better able to implement budget reductions in the least painful way by adapting them to the unique nature of each campus.

Since the Donahoe Act of 1960, the state of California has sought to provide access to a quality education for all qualified students. The California code states, "The State of California reaffirms its historic commitment to ensure adequate resources to support enrollment growth." (66202.5). The code enshrined these goals in terms of the learning experience we as faculty provide: "It is the intent of the Legislature that the segments of higher education recognize that quality teaching is the core ingredient of the undergraduate educational experience." (66060). Current cuts in the CSU budget have undermined the master plan, while making it difficult to recruit and retain quality faculty.