News & Issues:
UC and the California Budget
Adapted from information provided by Myrna Hays, Lobbying Coordinator, Council of UC Faculty Associations

California's financial situation is grim, and UC's budget has already been significantly reduced despite surging enrollments. By the next academic year, on-campus enrollment should have increased by about 18% over a three-year period, while UC's budget will have decreased by some 6%.

Base budget reductions began in 2001-02, with $11 million in mid-year cuts. In 2002-03, the budget act approved another $160 million in base budget cuts. That year saw an additional $52 million in mid-year reductions. The governor's 2003-04 budget and his proposed May Revision include a further $139 million in base budget reductions and, if adopted, would raise the total amount of cuts to UC's base budget over $360 million during this 3-year period. Under the governor's budget, UC students already face a $1,200 fee increase over two years and so further revenue enhancements from increased tuition are exceedingly unlikely. (Figures provided here have already been adjusted to account for offsetting revenue from student fee increases.)

Exacerbating the state's shrinking appropriations, UC campuses must absorb another $100 million in cost increases that are not being funded by the state-these include skyrocketing health benefit costs, merit increases for eligible faculty, increased energy costs, unfunded costs related to the maintenance of new space, and inflation increases in the non-salary portion of the budget. And, of course, there is UC's need for 6,000 new faculty members over the next decade to accommodate enrollment growth. . . .

As this newsletter goes to press, the governor's proposal seems now to be the best-case budget scenario, in part, because some legislators are calling for even deeper cuts in the UC budget. One legislative plan would make $80.5 million in cuts beyond those contained in the governor's budget, and an Assembly Republican plan would cut another $400 million from the UCs.

UC cannot absorb more cuts without seriously compromising the quality of the University. In fact, the cuts that are already being implemented include reductions equaling 10%-50% of program budgets in such areas as libraries, student services, public service programs, and administration.

Research funding was cut 20% in the early 1990s and will probably sustain another 20% cut over the current two-year period. Meanwhile, faculty salaries will lag those at UC's comparison institutions next year by 9%, and UC faces a similar challenge with respect to staff salaries.

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