Gov. Gray Davis announced in January that the CSU system will be faced with fiscal reductions and increased student tuition to combat California’s $35 billion deficit.

It is likely the base budget for all programs will be reduced by $143 million, according to an official CSU newsletter released in January.

The proposed budget plans for a reduction in academic institutional support by nearly $58 million, a 20 percent reduction in student services and a 50 percent reduction in outreach funding.

The governor’s budget proposal also plans to eliminate CalTeach and the bilingual teacher recruitment program. Both are designed to recruit aspiring teachers in California.

The governor also proposed to cut the budget for the Center for California Studies by 50 percent. Founded in 1984, the program recruits students to work in the state capital and aims to give students a valuable experience in government.

“I have been informed by people in the department of finance that the proposed cut does not in any way reflect dissatisfaction with the fellowship — rather it was a cut due to the extent of the budget crisis,” said Tim Hodson, Director of the Center for California Studies. “I’ve been working closely with bipartisan leaders of the legislature, and the cut should be reasonable and fair – and nowhere near 50 percent.”

The student to faculty ratio will also be increased from 18.9:1 to 19.9:1.

“I can’t imagine classrooms being any more crowded,” said sophomore and business finance major Aaron Rosetta. “Not only is our tuition going to be raised, but our classes will be even more packed. This will directly affect my quality of education, and that’s not right.”

The total cuts in funding could total $326 million, according to the CSU.

“Of course this is all preliminary. The actual budget has not yet been released, but we believe we will still be able to offer a wide range of classes for students. We have to assume we’re going to have enough money to cover enrollment, and our president has stated that he is sure nobody will be losing their job,” said Paul Noble, Interim Associate VP of Budget and Planning.

Noble also said that operative equipment, such as high-tech equipment professors use to teach classes and advanced computer labs, will likely be affected by the cuts.

“Amenities such as the computer labs will probably be among the first things affected. Student services may also have to put a temporary hold on programs they are currently developing, but hopefully they will be able to resume once the problem is alleviated,” Noble said.

According to the CSU official newsletter, the proposed budget is not final and could either increase or decrease. An estimated approval date is set for July.

“This will definitely impact our campus in many ways. Programs will be affected. But I do not see any of them completely going away,” said Jon Self, Associate VP of Financial Services. “It is too premature to know exactly which programs will be directly affected. But for example, programs such as the Student Financial Services Center’s Money Management program may have to slow down temporarily on its development.”

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