San Jose State can’t even claim to be a commuter school anymore. A news release sent out by the university last week announced it won’t accept new students from California for the Spring 2013 semester—but SJSU will allow students to apply from outside the state and country to reel in extra tuition fees.
It’s a new low point in an era of education cuts, when a public university won’t even allow the people who live in the same city or state to attend its institution. And San Jose State certainly isn’t alone in this disturbing trend.
According to the news release, previous budget cuts and a possible $250 million trigger cut by the state has caused 13 of the 23 California State University (CSU) schools to turn their backs on California applicants. The schools that will allow incoming freshmen and local junior college students to transfer for Spring 2013 include: Channel Islands, Chico, Fullerton, East Bay, Humboldt, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Francisco and Sonoma. The CSU system instructed schools on how to handle admissions for the future.
Larry Carr, associate vice president of Public Affairs at SJSU, said the change in admissions policy is “not a local issue in any way” and blamed the change on past and potential funding cuts by the state legislature.
“Overall, the California State University budget, the state is (responsible for) 49 percent of the budget, and tuition fees and other things support 51 percent of the budget,” Carr said. “The mission of the CSU is changing dramatically, because it’s no longer a priority for the legislature.”
Students from California see about half of their tuition fees picked up by the state, while students coming from outside of California pick up the full tab, Carr said. It makes good business sense for CSU schools to target admissions so they can get the most bang for their buck, but then one could also argue the schools might as well become private institutions.
Carr, a graduate of SJSU in 1992, admitted that he would not have been able to attend the school if the proposed Spring 2013 policy was in place when he was a student. Carr spent a year at a UC school before returning home to Morgan Hill and then transferring to SJSU.
If the sales and income tax proposals of Proposition 30, which Gov. Jerry Brown created, do not pass in this November’s election, Carr said SJSU alone will be forced to make $30-32 million in cuts.
The reason that Prop. 30 is going to have a hard time passing is that while politicians repeatedly bleat about the dire situation that education is in, their actions speak differently:
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2012/07/31/bill-authored-to-reallocate-lost-funding-for-49ers-stadium/
Using a legislative maneuver known as gut and replace, state Senator Elaine Alquist of Santa Clara has taken an existing bill dealing with teacher credentialing and rewritten it to help the 49ers. SB 1245 would reallocate $30 million in disputed redevelopment money to the project.
More:
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2012/08/07/melissa-griffin-lawmakers-back-to-work-santa-clara-stadium-fight-begins/
The Santa Clara superintendent of schools has reportedly said that they need the $30 million dollars to balance their budget. Senator Alquist’s legislation would reverse that decision and force the $30 million dollar payment to the stadium authority.
Apparently there is a compromise. I guess the 49ers figured the negative attention would hurt ticket sales.
http://www.mercurynews.com/southbayfootball/ci_21278028/san-francisco-49ers-south-bay-schools-settle-30
I would have replied earlier to your 11:14 comment but I was working at the time. Anyway the legislature is going to do the right thing and pass pension reform – prison guards can’t retire at 50 anymore – and that will be a good thing. After that prop 30 should pass. YES on 30, NO on everything else.
I think California residents would still be able to attend SJSU in Spring 2013 through its Open University program (http://ou.sjsu.edu/). Of course, Open U. classes cost more, have limited availability, along with other restrictions, but someone who isn’t able to register at SJSU in the Spring and needs a class that is also unavailable at a junior college may find Open University at least partially meets their needs.
> …but then one could also argue the schools might as well become private institutions.
Oh, what a horrible thought!
How would the state impose political correctness?
Students would have to shop around to select education that fits their needs rather than having to accept whatever drivel the tenured, subsidized government professoriat chose to serve up.
Do you think things are better off for people in Alabama?
> Do you think things are better off for people in Alabama?
Could be.
1. Better football team.
2. Lower taxes.
3. Less public debt per capita.
4. Lower gasoline prices.
5. Lower housing prices.
6. No stupid High Speed Rail to nowhere
Oh, and compared to PC California,
7. Less racism and less racial hypocrisy.
Josh,
So, what do you propose, given that Prop 30 will likely go down in flames?
Governor Moonbeam and his ilk have long utilized blackmail as the preferred method to increase taxes. In this case, Brown makes it very public that he’ll decimate public education if Prop 30 fails. He is much like a little brat, taking his toys home when he doesn’t get away… how very childish!
All the while, he’s off committing the State to a 70-100 billion dollar rail scheme that will never, ever pay for itself, instead being subsidized to the tune of 50% or more for eternity, and a 15 billion dollar water bond that will simply screw NorCal in favor of SoCal.
Neither of those issues is favored by the voters and taxpayers. Moonbeam and other slimeball politicians may think that voters are stupid, or at least ignorant. Just wait until they find out they were terribly wrong and Prop 30 fails by a margin of at least 10%.
“Stupid”? “Ignorant”? You do believe the earth is 5000 years old, don’t you?
A cogent thought please.