LA Times: Cal State considers drastic plan in case of an 'all-cuts' budget

Facing a potential $1-billion reduction in state funding for the coming school year, California State University is considering "radical" measures that could include huge tuition hikes and enrollment reductions, officials said Tuesday.

The actions may be necessary to keep classroom doors open if tax extensions requested by Gov. Jerry Brown are not approved, Chancellor Charles B. Reed told trustees at a meeting in Long Beach.

The state already had approved funding cuts for the next school year of $500 million each for Cal State and the University of California. An additional $500 million may be demanded from each system if the temporary tax extensions are not approved by voters or the Legislature.

Under the contingency plan presented Tuesday, Cal State could be forced to raise tuition for full-time undergraduates by 32% next year, in addition to a 10% increase already approved for fall 2011. The contingency increase would mean an additional $1,566 and bring total annual tuition for undergraduates to $6,450. The total does not include annual campus fees that average $950.

"It's going to be radical and it's going to generate a lot of pain," said Reed, who will make formal recommendations to the governing board in July.

Cal State campuses also may resort to a waiting list for applications for winter and spring 2012 enrollment and hold off admissions decisions until a state budget is finalized.

In the worst-case scenario, 20,000 qualified applicants could be turned away, Reed told trustees.

"An 'all-cuts' budget would mean reducing 36% of our operating costs in one year and I don't know of a business in this country that can take that kind of reduction," the chancellor said.

Reed offered a number of other scenarios that could save $500 million, including closing the 10 smallest of Cal State's 23 campuses... to continue reading, please click here.