CSU Budget Priorities for Academic Year 2006-07

AS-2694-05/FGA - May 5-6, 2005

RESOLVED: That the Academic Senate of the California State University (CSU) again endorse the following budget priorities delineated in AS-2654-04/FGA, CSU Budget Priorities for Academic Year 2005-06, and call upon the Chancellor and the Board of Trustees to secure the resources needed to ensure quality and authentic access for students seeking to graduate from the CSU:

• 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;



• 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;



• To bring faculty salaries up to the level of California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) comparison universities and to implement the recommendation of the Assembly Concurrent Resolution (ACR) 73 Task Force;

RESOLVED: That the Chancellor and Board of Trustees consult with the executive committee of the Academic Senate CSU and the System Budget Advisory Committee (SBAC) during the summer of 2005 when developing the proposed CSU budget for 2006-07; 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: The Academic Senate CSU recognizes that the CSU is at a crisis situation as evidenced by the fact that 55% of the faculty are over the age of 50, less than half of the faculty are tenure/tenure track, and the system has had continued difficulty in hiring due to many reasons including: salaries in the CSU lag substantially below comparable institutions, teaching loads in the CSU are among the highest in the nation, and housing costs in California are significantly higher than most other regions in the nation. It is also a matter of critical concern to the Academic Senate CSU that the budget priorities delineated in AS-2654-04/FGA, CSU Budget Priorities for Academic Year 2005-06 have unfortunately not yet been addressed and hence merit immediate attention by the Chancellor and Board of Trustees.