About this study:

Higher education in California would suffer a second major blow in less than six years if the state adopts the sweeping cuts proposed by this year's budget.  The University of California, the California State University, and the state's Community College system have not yet recovered from cuts that stemmed from the dot-com crash earlier this decade, according to this new study meant to aid lawmakers and the public as they grapple with balancing the state's budget.

If these newest proposed cuts are adopted, there will be a compounding effect over the next years as enrollment funding could force UC and CSU to halt their existing student enrollment at current levels - turning away thousands of 10th through 12th graders who have worked hard to meet requirements.

For the state's Community Colleges, who have a mandate of open enrollment and already operate with lean budgets, these cuts could significantly increase class size and reduce services that support student success.

Moreover, budget cuts like these force California's higher education institutions to rely on unpredicted hikes in student fees - stop gap budgetary measures that take students and parents by surprise.

All of these changes, according to the study, come at precisely the time when the state needs to be enrolling and graduating many more students to meet the demand of a more educated workforce.

November 2008: mid-year budget cuts proposed

Both the UC Board of Regents and the CSU Trustees met this week to announce the impact that the new budget proposal will have on their universities. CSU may need to turn away 10,000 qualified students and possibly increase fees in order to maintain the quality of education they offer. The UC Regents have said that they will not increase fees, but that means cutting millions of dollars out of existing programs and wages.

This new mid-year budget proposal includes over $65 million in proposed mid-year cuts to the  UC system and 66 million in proposed mid-year cuts to the CSU system. This comes on the heels of cuts that were included in the 2008-09 State Budget that went into effect this past September.

For the state's Community Colleges, who have a mandate of open enrollment and already operate with lean budgets, these cuts could significantly increase class size and reduce services that support student success. The Community College system anticipates roughly 3 percent enrollment growth each year. It is possible that enrollment will exceed 3 percent growth in the coming years because increases in enrollment often come when the economy slows down and because many students turned away from the UCs and CSUs will begin their education at a community college.

This new mid-year budget proposal includes $332.2 million in proposed mid-year cuts to the California Community Colleges. This comes on the heels of $290 million in cuts that were included in the 2008-09 State Budget that went into effect this past September.