The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) continues to project a shortage of baccalaureate degrees by 2030, and the CSU has a significant role to play as the largest public university system in the state. In fact, one in 10 California employees and one in 20 degree holders in the country are graduates of the CSU.
The 2017–18 Support Budget plan represents continued and increased state investment in the CSU. We believe this budget plan, which totals $343.7 million in new resources for 2017–18, reflects the current needs of the CSU and sustains the momentum built in recent years. The CSU’s $5.4 billion total budget is funded from two sources: $3.2 billion from state general funds and $2.2 billion from net tuition and fee revenue.
The support budget plan coordinates our collective efforts toward the ambitious and challenging goals of Graduation Initiative 2025. The CSU has already met and exceeded the goal set in 2009. This prompted the CSU to set even higher systemwide and campus goals for four- and six-year graduation rates, to completely eliminate the achievement gap for underrepresented students, low-income students, and first-generation students, and to do our part to meet California’s need for more bachelor’s degrees by 2030. With proper financial support for the Graduation Initiative, we are confident we can achieve these goals. Much of our past success is attributable to campuses encouraging students to take a full-time course load each term, increasing the availability of courses, restoring student services that were cut during recession years, and hiring more tenure-track faculty. Additional resources will allow campuses to build on this progress and take quicker action to reduce roadblocks to degree completion.
The budget plan also dedicates significant funding for employee compensation. Our faculty and staff are critical to the success of our students. Funding requests for compensation are to cover collective bargaining agreements already in place, including the conversion of one-time funding used in 2016–17 to recurring funding for these ongoing costs. Additionally, the plan assumes costs for collective bargaining units with open contracts in 2017–18 and similar commitments to non-represented employee groups.
The CSU anticipates funded enrollment growth of approximately 3,616 resident full-time equivalent students (FTES), raising the total systemwide FTES to 365,260. The CSU is also requesting recurring state funds for academic facilities and infrastructure needs, though this request would only allow the CSU to slow the growth in the deferred maintenance backlog and not reduce it.
In addition to the Board of Trustees priorities outlined here, new state funding will be used to fund mandatory cost increases for health and dental benefits, retirement, the operation and maintenance of new buildings on campuses, and the effect on salaries due to changes in state and federal wage laws.
For the CSU to fully meet the expectations of the California Master Plan for Higher Education, this budget plan is justified. The current levels of state general fund support coupled with student tuition and fees do not meet the needs of the CSU nor do they match the ambitious goals we have set for ourselves and our students. Going forward, the CSU faces a number of fiscal challenges that must be addressed so the CSU can focus on its core mission. The CSU is confident the 2017–18 Support Budget plan is a step in the right direction and represents a significant investment in a multi-year effort to meet the education and workforce needs of the state.
2017–18 Expenditure Augmentations
- $75.0 million for Graduation Initiative 2025
- $139.1 million for compensation (current contracts)
- $55.1 million for compensation (new contracts & non-represented staff)
- $38.5 million for a one percent increase in funded enrollment
- $10.0 million for academic facilities and infrastructure
- $26.0 million for mandatory cost increases (e.g. health & dental benefits, retirement, new facilities, and federal and state mandates)
Three-Year Budget Summary and Highlights
Sources of Funds and Expenditure Augmentations
Distribution of Expenditure Increases