Resolution in Support of the Coalition to Save the CSU, #RS04-228

Whereas Passage of the Governor's proposed 2004/05 state budget would mean that state support for the CSU will have been cut by half a billion dollars in the last two years; and

Whereas These cuts represent the latest in a 30 year trend of reducing state support for the CSU: in 1967/68 the CSU budget made up 6% of the state's General Fund but in 2003/04 it will be only 3.5%; and

Whereas Cuts of this magnitude will be certain to affect drastically the ability of faculty to provide a high-quality education to the millions of people in California who rely on the CSU for higher education and for an educated workforce; and

Whereas The proposed budget also includes the third student fee increase in two years, thereby increasing undergraduate student fees by 58 percent and graduate fees by 110 percent; and

Whereas Student success programs, such as the Educational Opportunity Program, have been targeted for elimination; and

Whereas More than 20,000 qualified students will be denied admission to the CSU next year (on top of the 15,000 who were denied admission last year); and

Whereas Cuts to the CSU will have a profoundly negative effect on the California economy and directly affect the greater San Francisco Bay Area communities; therefore be it

Resolved That the Academic Senate of SFSU strongly endorse the Coalition to Save the CSU and encourage faculty to participate in activities that promote the coalition; and be it further

Resolved That the Academic Senate of SFSU encourage all faculty to support the efforts of the Coalition to Save the CSU and to encourage members of their personal and professional networks to join the Coalition and reaffirm their commitment to the CSU.

*** Unanimously Approved by the Academic Senate on April 27, 2004 ***