By Robert Salonga
Daily Bruin Staff
SAN FRANCISCO “”mdash; The University of California is facing
substantial cuts to its state budget ““ a situation that could
have dire effects on summer school, student fees and faculty
wages.
To comply with Gov. Gray Davis’ Oct. 11 request that all
state agencies prepare for a 15 percent budget cut ““ which
roughly equates to $475 million for the UC ““ the Board of
Regents’ Committee on Finance met Thursday to discuss
possible areas within its budget that would receive reductions to
accomodate the cut.
Also on Thursday, the regents formally approved comprehensive
review, a new admissions plan designed to evaluate an applicant
based on factors such as personal achievements and life challenges
in addition to academic criteria. The vote was 15-4-1.
But the focus of the day was on budgetary issues. Davis
announced Wednesday his plans for a January mid-year cut of $2.2
billion from the state budget, with the UC’s share totaling
an additional $86 million.
In proposing the UC’s 2002-03 state budget ““ a
figure that stands at $3.65 billion ““ to the regents, Larry
Hershman, UC vice president for the budget, presented several
options for achieving the desired savings.
“The state is facing a serious fiscal situation,”
Hershman said. “We will do all we can while preserving the
quality of our core educational programs as much as
possible.”
Increasing student fees was an option, since, on average, UC
students pay among the lowest fees in the nation, Hershman said.
Currently, students throughout the university pay $3,799 in
mandatory system-wide fees per academic year, excluding individual
campus fees. This total has not changed since 1994.
But Kenny Burch, chair of the University of California Students
Association, said living costs for university students offset any
potential savings.
According to a UCSA report, the average yearly cost of living
near a UC ranges from $7,418 at Irvine to $10,046 at Berkeley. At
UCLA, students pay an average total of $8,209 to live in
Westwood.
Regent William Bagley criticized the state Legislature for
pressuring the regents to raise student fees.
Instead, he said, the state should raise taxes to come up with
the necessary funds for the UC.
But the Legislature “didn’t have the guts” to
raise taxes, he said, in the presence of State Assembly Speaker
Robert Hertzberg, a regent by virtue of his office.
The regents also explored reducing the expansion of summer
sessions at the UC.
UCLA, Berkeley and Santa Barbara currently hold state-assisted
summer instruction, and it was hoped that this would be extended to
the remaining campuses.
But with the state’s financial predicament, Hershman said
this is likely to be cut to save about $33 million.
Salary increases for faculty and staff could also be limited.
Throughout the ’90s, faculty received a yearly 1.5 percent
pay increase based on merit, with everyone receiving an additional
cost-of-living adjustment around 2 to 3 percent.
This year, faculty received a 0.4 percent adjustment, though the
Board approved a 2 percent average general salary increase for
fiscal year 2002-03.
Hershman presented two other alternatives: to reduce the class
size for freshmen and transfer students or to implement cuts to
programs that benefited from recent major increases in funding.
The student-faculty ratio would be maintained at its current
level, Hershman said about the proposal to reduce class size. The
ratio in the UC is about 17.8 students per faculty member.
No cuts are certain, though ““ the regents must wait until
Davis reveals his budget on Jan. 10.
Most of the $86 million Davis requested the UC cut will come
from the rerouting of science funds and reduction of energy funds,
which was not included in Thursday’s budget draft.
The 2002-03 budget proposal was based on the Partnership, an
agreement between the UC and governor that outlines a commitment by
Davis to raise state funding to the university in proportion to its
growth.
With this in mind, the proposal outlines funding for enrollment
growth of 7,100 full-time students in 2002-03, a 4.3 percent
increase over this year. In addition, the proposal includes a 4
percent, or $428, increase in nonresident tuition, making it stand
at $11,132 next year.