For many generations, the University of California, California State University systems, and community colleges, have been distinguished as some of the best examples of what public institutions of higher education should be. In the past, CSU campuses enrolled 420,000 students at all it's 23 campuses, with a tuition of $5,970 per year. While UC’s tuition was $13,200, and enrolled a total of 222,000 at it’s 10 campuses.
Over recent years, California’s Public Higher Education system has been plagued with a $2.5 billion dollar budget cuts that have not only increased tuition, laid off academic advisers, cut class enrollments for students, but also put in jeopardy the future of higher education. In an article titled “Private colleges boom as California universities falter”, Christina Hoag (2012) suggests that although budget cuts have had detrimental effects in higher education, the educational crisis has a flip side to it(Hoag, 2012). With an immense number of California students disillusioned with the costs of tuition and fewer classes, private institutions and out-of-state schools are experiencing an increase in enrollment from freshman and transfer students to earn their college degrees. ."When it takes more than six years to graduate from a public university, that makes all of California's private schools a much better value for the money," states Homa Shabahangm the vice provost of the University of La Verne, whose enrollment has increased by 70 percent in the past five years.
But the University of La Verne is not the only private institution experiencing a higher demand from California students. Northern Arizona University has also received an increase of 40 percent enrollment over the last three years. The school has been recruiting California students by providing a break on out-of state tuition rates, which means out of state students will be allowed to pay for their tuition at a discounted rate. The University of Oregon has hired more admissions counselors to recruit highs school freshmens from all over California. Their numbers have gone up from 177 five years ago, to 449 just this year. Saint Mary's College of California has also experienced a 51 percent increase in application submissions since 2009, with nearly 6,000 students applying for 600 freshman slots. Beseda, a representative from Saint Mary's states that "We're happy to have these students but I hope nobody thinks we're the long-term solution, the long-term solution is to invest more in higher education."
Because budget cuts have made it a lot harder for students to get admitted or graduate on time, private colleges and universities have responded to this crisis by recruiting students and promising smaller classes, course availability, graduating on-time, and good financial aid packet.
Because budget cuts have made it a lot harder for students to get admitted or graduate on time, private colleges and universities have responded to this crisis by recruiting students and promising smaller classes, course availability, graduating on-time, and good financial aid packet.
If students are enrolling at private institutions of higher education, what will California public institutions going to have to do to bring their enrollment numbers up? As future student affairs professionals, how can we help? What are the implications for those of us planning to work at California public institutions? How do budget cuts affect student affairs in the public sector?
-Rose R.
References
Hoag, C. (2012). Private colleges boom as calif universities falter. San francisco chronicle, Retrieved from http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Private-colleges-boom-as-Calif-universities-falter-3967405.php
Medina, J. (2012, June 01). California cuts threaten the status of universities. The new york times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/02/us/california-cuts-threaten-the-status-of-universities.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&
Ross addresses a very real and prevalent issue in higher education. Higher education administrators are being forced to prove their accountability and worth of the education they are providing. Students and parents who invest in a college education want to know that their students are obtaining a quality education in a timely matter. I definitely understand why students would opt for private institutions over public institutions if it means they will earn their degree in an acceptable amount of time with a more intimate education experience. That being said, it is important that public institutions mend the issues that Ross addresses, as public institutions do not always have room for the vast amount of students who apply to their institutions.
ReplyDeleteThanks for bringing this issues up Rose. I was recently having a conversation with a local high school college counselor about this issue. He mentioned that California did not prepare or come-up with a type of "20 year plan" back in the 90's when college attendance rates began to increase and the economy was doing well. With more high school students then ever applying to college, universities in California are not prepared for this influx of applications. There is simply no space for students not only in residential facilities but in classrooms as well. I am not surprised that private and out of state colleges is now a more viable option. If tuition rates are increasing yearly and the time frame for graduating is no longer 4-years, why not apply to a private or out of state institution and essential pay the same cost? California needs to reassess how to address the issue of the growing number of applicants before it cannot serve its residents.
ReplyDelete-Erica Wasserman
I am saddened to hear that students are deciding on private universities instead of public, however I am not surprised. Based on the evidence that Rose mentions in her blog, it makes sense for students to pursue an education at a private school. Why wait six years to obtain a bachelors degree when you can do it in three or four at a private university? This makes a lot more sense, especially if students want to pursue a masters, doctorate, or law degree. If they take six years to just to complete their bachelors they will be in school until their 30’s pursuing a graduate degree. People want to get on with their lives. They want to be able to start a career, make a living, travel, and settle down. All of this is very difficult to do when you are still in school. Furthermore, private schools offer a great deal of resources to their students such as financial aid, scholarships, and residential options.
ReplyDeleteHowever, this is not a solution to the crisis that has engulfed the California public education system. Although tuition is growing these institutions are significantly more affordable than private colleges and universities. In addition, they offer students a great deal of opportunities and allow them to engage in research with world-renowned faculty. Higher education administrators and politicians must develop policies that provide students with access to public universities.
Rose raises a good question, how can we help? I echo Beseda's sentiment - invest in higher education. November 6th is right around the corner and voting for measures and representatives who will push investment in higher education to the forefront is important. I find it interesting that within my position at a university, I have not heard one word from my employer about voting. I believe all higher education institutions, both public and private, have a responsibility to educate employees on voting. This education does not need to be affiliated with a particular party, but on simple items such as where to find resources, how to check if you are registered, what you will need to do to request time off from work to vote, etc. I am also surprised that the higher education regional professional associations with which I am involved have also not taken advantage of the network to educate. As student affairs professionals, I do not think we have to look very far to help. - Jesse
ReplyDeleteI think this blog presents some excellent points and statistics regarding California's state with regards to higher education. Students are clearly resorting to private universities to receive a "guarantee" and ensure timely graduation. Also, private universities are for the first time in history, comparable in price to public universities. While on one hand this trend is good because it is turning students to explore excellent alternative liberal arts colleges and other univerisites they would not have explored initially, this can only go on for so long.
ReplyDeleteWith the big increase in college going students, I think our stake regardless of where we are employed (private or public isnsitutions) is to ensure a high quality of student services. This is true across the board for services including advising, financial aid, and other student wellness programs. These economic conditions demand innovation and high level of skill and knowledge to serve students on a budget. We all have less than a year to get to that level of efficiency before hitting the real world! It is a serious challenge.
-Juana Escobar
It is interesting that California has managed, in the space of a generation, to ruin what was essentially the best higher education system in the world. We've turned our community colleges into three- or four-year institutions and our four-year institutions into five- or six-year institutions. As others have noted, the only thing that seems like a viable solution is to continue to demand an increased investment in higher education.
ReplyDelete- Joel H.
This is a great issue to bring up and I think the same thing is happening with the rest of California outside of higher education. California didn't plan ahead and we can't make that mistake again, an investment in higher education must be made. Students leaving to out-of-state schools can possibly pose a later problem if California's issues persist. I myself decided on a CSU for grad school because of a more reasonable cost, but after facing the some of the same issues as undergrads with program cuts and canceling of classes I decided to leave for USC. I imagined the cost might end up almost the same if I had to stay longer due to lack of classes. As student affairs professionals at California's public schools I imagine there are more challenges to work with due to the state's budget.
ReplyDelete-R. Ayala
I think that most of us can agree that we chose private school for our graduate studies because of institutional resources. It really is unfortunate that students cannot attend top tier public schools like UCLA or UCSD or Berkeley because of lack of financial assistance and a lack of classes being offerred. Why attend a school knowing that you can't graduate in 4 years?
ReplyDeleteCA is not the only state losing students due to tuition. Four years ago, I met a resident of Arizona who was sending her daughter out of state to the University of New Mexico because out of state tuition in New Mexico was cheaper than in state tuition in Arizona. I was fairly surprised by this, as I expected out of state tuition to always be more expensive than in state.
ReplyDeleteIn reading these comments, I keep seeing "We need more investment in higher education." What exactly do we want, though? Do we want more faculty? Or more class sections? Or more CSU, UC, and CCC (California Community College) campuses? Or should we shift toward moving those huge GE classes to online formats, freeing up classroom space for upper division classes?
I wish there was an easy fix to this problem. More private institutions are realizing that there is a need and jumping on the opportunity to recruit students. Unfortunately, not all private institutions have the student's best interest and learning in mind. Hopefully we will see some improvement in the coming years. Either way - change is coming.
ReplyDelete