The economy in California has been struggling over the past few years, and this trend has hurt the funding of the California State University system. This may not mean much on the surface, but if California wants to recover they need to take the importance of the CSU system into account. A recent report released by the CSU system entitled, “Working for California: The Impact of the California State University System,” goes into depth on how much economic activity the system helps generate. Overall the 23-campus CSU system reported that they generate approximately $17 billion in economic activity for the state, which results in roughly $1 billion in local and state taxes each year. One example is the San Joaquin Valley campuses in the CSU system, which when appropriated $293 million in funds from the state, returned every dollar with $2.83 in regional and $4.5 in statewide spending.

Students count on the California State University system, as it is one of the most affordable and best quality higher education options for them to earn their degree. Governor Schwarzenegger will release a revised state budget this week, which is expected to show California with a minimum $20 billion in debt. Education is key to having a qualified work force who can contribute to the state economy, and the CSU system needs to receive adequate funding so they can continue to generate revenue for the state. As a business, the CSU system is profitable based on this report, so why not appropriate funds accordingly which the state will get a positive return on investment? Right now we will all have to wait until Governor Schwarzenegger announces the updated budget, to see how much funding the CSU system receives.

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In 2007 there was a collective bargaining agreement with the California State University system, and part of that involved salary increases for faculty members. However those salary increases are on hold as of now, after a neutral fact-finding team concluded that the salary increases cannot be justified at this time due to the ongoing economic crisis. CSU has had their general fund cut by roughly 20% over the last two years, which has hindered their universities’ ability to operate efficiently and make students, faculty, and administrators all happy. This news is compounded with numerous other events that have hurt CSU schools, like the reduction of classes, cancellation of sports programs, and meeting student demand for enrollment. The debate is very tricky, as raises were promised as long as the CSU system was not required to use “new money,” and the administration believes that because of budget cuts, they would have to use “new” money to meet the promises they made back in 2007.

CSU faculty want the money promised to them, as many already have difficulties paying their bills while dealing with furloughs. These raises are a very small fraction of the overall CSU budget, but that is still part of a budget that is 20% smaller than expected. As of now the debate looks like it will continue between faculty and administration, to determine what is considered “new” money. Students are upset over reduced classes and increased fees, while faculty is now angry over broken promises to raise their salary. If the governor and the state do not fix these budget issues soon, it could be very detrimental to the educational future of California.

Students are definitely excited that Governor Schwarzenegger is pushing for more money for financial aid and higher education, during the upcoming fiscal year in California that starts in July. However this does not help current California community college students who are trying to push forward to transfer and complete their bachelors degree that are having tremendous difficulty. Right now there is a major bottleneck with the flow of transfer students to the California State University system, who are currently not accepting midyear transfer students. Not all community college students finish college at the end of the school year, therefore many students are stuck in limbo waiting to transfer to a CSU campus. Many students are frustrated and want to continue their education without any gaps, as it costs them a lot of money to wait around for the CSU system to become ready to accept students again.

California community college students are graduating and deciding to attend private career colleges or head out of state to go to college where they can get accepted right away. This trend is expected to have long term effects on the California economy as we’re sending our smart and talented students out of state. When a student goes out of state to college, it is less likely that they will return to California to start work after graduation and help our local economy. Hopefully Schwarzenegger can make significant enough changes while still in office to help rectify the situation now, so that it does not lead to bigger issues down the road.

California colleges have been popping up in the press quite often this year, as they work to become greener campuses by implementing solar technologies and other environmentally friendly practices. The Princeton Review recently released their Guide to 286 Green Colleges, in which California took 26 of the top spots on the list. However New York beat out every state on The Princeton Review’s Guide to 286 Green Colleges with 37 schools making the list this year. In order to compile this list of green colleges in the U.S., The Princeton Review teams up with Washington, D.C.-based U.S. Green Building Council. Also known as the  USGBC, their mission is to help the U.S. become more sustainable via cost-efficient and energy-saving green buildings. Having 26 California colleges on the list is a great accomplishment, but with the amount of colleges and universities in the state, this number could be much higher.

It is great that someone is taking the time to compile all of the environmentally-responsible campuses in the U.S., as it should inspire other colleges in California to step up their game when it comes to being green. The study looked at many factors which a number of California colleges can improve, such as solar technology utilization and increasing the percentage of budget spent on local/organic food. Having local and organic food should be a definite for all of the colleges in California, as the state produces such a large percentage of U.S. food. Now that this list is published, California colleges can use it as a guide for what they can do to become greener, so that we increase the number of colleges on the The Princeton Review’s Guide to Green Colleges next year.

Complete List of California Colleges on The Princeton Review’s Guide to 286 Green Colleges

California State University, Chico
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
California State University, Stanislaus
Claremont McKenna College
Harvey Mudd College
Humboldt State University
Mills College
Saint Mary’s College (CA)
San Francisco State University
Santa Clara University
Sonoma State University
Stanford University
University of California—Berkeley
University of California, Davis
University of California—Irvine
University of California, Los Angeles
University of California—Riverside
University of California—San Diego
University of California—Santa Barbara
University of California—Santa Cruz
University of La Verne
University of Redlands
University of San Diego
University of Southern California
University of the Pacific
Whittier College

California State University and University of California systems have been struggling the last couple years to offer enough classes to all of the students who want to enroll. The current budget crisis in California, and lack of concentrated efforts on funding the California’s public university systems for the past couple decades, have hindered the universities’ ability to accept as many students as they would like. However the nonprofit Public Policy Institute of California released a report which recommended the state make changes to the current admission guidelines for the California State University and University of California systems. As of now the master plan for the UC system requires that they choose their students from the top 12.5% of high school graduates and the Cal State system chooses from the top 33.3% of students. These percentages are based upon test scores, high school grades, and other factors which contribute to admission into one of the California universities. Moving forward, the Institute recommends that these percentages are increased to the top 15% for the UC system and the top 40% for the the Cal State system.

The Public Policy Institute of California is not recommending that these changes go live right away, but with a target date of 2025. California has serious budget issues which it needs to overcome so that they can have the money to properly fund the public California universities. Therefore the government needs to make major changes in order to increase revenues in the state, so that they can meet the future demand of California high school students who want to earn their degree.  Change needs to happen soon, as the more California college graduates the state produces, the more likely they are to reduce the budget issues, and more qualified workers will be able to contribute to the local economy.

Becoming accepted into a California university is a bit tougher this year as schools reduce enrollments, add wait lists, and boost out of state student numbers (which helps generate more revenue). Just over 10,000 students were given spots on the wait list, and many students did get into the California university that they wanted. However, those students who were put on the wait list do not seem too apt to wait around and see what happens. They seem to be more comfortable picking one of the other California college or universities that accepted them, or possibly going to school out of state.

Overall admissions are becoming more competitive with the budget cuts, so students need to step up their game to get into their top choice for college in California. Below is data from some of the universities in California so you can get an idea of how many students applied and were accepted. Keep in mind that the number of students accepted is always much larger than the number of students who will enroll. Most California universities will see 3,000 to 5,000 students enroll as freshman for fall 2010.

University of California, Santa Barbara

19,721 high school seniors were offered a spot for the fall 2010 term at UCSB. This was from a pool of 46,700 applicants, which was one of the largest applicant pools in UCSB history.

University of California, Los Angeles

Roughly 13,000 students were offered a spot for the fall 2010 class at UCLA. This was from a pool of 57,651 students that submitted applications for UCLA. The university remains the most popular campus in the nation.

University of California, Davis

19,460 students were offered a spot for the fall 2010 class at UC Davis. This was from a pool of roughly 30,000 students who submitted applications to attend UC Davis.

University of California, Santa Cruz

16,756 students were offered a spot for the fall 2010 class at UC Santa Cruz. This was from a pool of 25,827 high school seniors who submitted applications to UC Santa Cruz.

Cal State Stanislaus has been all over the news this week after announcing that former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin would be the speaker delivering the keynote address at their 50th anniversary in June. Some people in the area are excited to come see Palin speak, but the event is also causing some controversy in California. There is a loophole under California law that CSU Stanislaus is exploiting, by utilizing their non-profit foundation to pay Palin for speaking at the anniversary event. Palin has been riding on her 15 minutes of fame which she received as the republican vice-presidential candidate, by making paid appearances as a speaker. This was a smart business move, but State Senator Leland Yee is curious how much CSU Stanislaus is paying Palin for the keynote speech. Unfortunately the way the loophole is right now allows non-profits to not be subject to California open records law.

CSU Stanislaus president Matt Swanson has made it clear that the university is raising additional outside funds to pay Palin for her keynote speech at the 50th anniversary in June. Celebrities of similar stature often receive $75,000 to $100,000 per appearance. Despite this possible amount, CSU Stanislaus feels that the event will bring in a massive crowd to the California university so that they can raise serious money for their non-profit foundation. They plan to raise more than enough to cover Palin’s fee, but with the loophole we will never know if CSU Stanislaus generates enough revenue to offset the cost of this event. Luckily Yee is helping work on legislation which will close the loophole in California law.

Rough economic times have forced many California college students to reevaluate their priorities, and as a result more are choosing to volunteer and give back during their spring break. Traditionally most California college students travel somewhere like Mexico or Florida, but that costs a lot of money and does not give back to the community. Fresno State University is doing a great job in helping their students with community service or volunteer projects during spring break 2010. Last year Fresno State started a pilot program to give the California college students a chance to take part in an alternative spring break. This year things are picking up as they had roughly 20 students participate in the spring break program, which helped the local community of Fresno.

It is estimated that over 70,000 college students from across the U.S. will pass up the normal spring break adventures and partying, in order to help out and give back via volunteer work. Some students view this as a way to improve their resumes, but most feel that the main goal is to be altruistic and help out people in a constructive way. Not all go through an organized program like the one at Fresno State, as some California college students just go out on their own and find local organizations that they want to support by helping out. Each year the number of college students who want to volunteer and give back is increasing, and this trend is expected to continue as it is a rewarding experience that will help give students a well rounded perspective.

You might be surprised to know that most California colleges and universities do not have the best websites, in fact many look outdated which may make it tough to get a prospective student excited about the school. California colleges like CSU Bakersfield, CSU Sacramento, and San Diego State University all have websites which are not very visually impressive, and not the easiest to navigate. CSU Chico wanted to improve the overall usability of the college website and give it a redesign which everyone associated with the school will be happy about. They surveyed current and prospective students, staff, faculty, alumni, and administrators so that they could determine what the audience who uses the website most wanted to see. Luckily CSU Chico had a big group of community participants on campus who helped out to launch the new website this week.

There are three committees at CSU Chico which includes the Web Management Committee, the Web Design Team, and the Web Content Committee, who made this newly redesign possible. At first glance the new website really catches your eye, and the navigation is very clearly laid out so that anyone visiting the website will have an easy time finding what they are seeking. They have ten different hero images on the home page which all represent different facets of CSU Chico. The color palette and design is fresh and clean, which makes it very easy on the eyes. Overall the new CSU Chico website is one of the nicest among all of the California State University campuses.

Coed Dorms or gender-neutral housing has been becoming increasingly popular among California colleges, and schools through the United States. Some of the California colleges that are already accepting this housing option include Stanford, UC Berkley, UC Riverside, and the Harvey Mudd colleges.  There are roughly 50 colleges and universities across the U.S. which are using coed dorms, but this number is expected to increase in the next few years. It seems only logical that more California colleges and universities would consider this as a way to gain them more flexibility when it comes to housing. If couples, or friends want to live together then California colleges should make this an option as it will make them more attractive to wider groups of people. Some of the push for these coed dorms have been helped by The National Student Genderblind Campaign, which strives for gender equality, gay rights, and trans-gender inclusion for students across the country.

In the 21st century the idea of coed dorms at California colleges and universities is not that taboo, as more people want gender-neutral housing while in school. Being yourself and comfortable with who you are as a person is part of the college life for many, and the addition of coed dorms opens up an option for many people who will benefit from that environment. Having a truly compatible roommate allows students to better enjoy the college experience, which should translate to an improved atmosphere for learning. Over the next few years we should expect to see more colleges and universities shift toward offering gender-neutral housing as an option.