Editorial: Enrollment caps inevitable amid budget crisis

With the dire implications of the state’s $38 billion
shortfall sinking in, the leaders of the University of California
must find a way to make sacrifices without harming the
university’s educational mission. With the state budget a
week past due, the deadlocked Sacramento legislators do not seem to
be focused on making progress: Republicans want to avoid the
political fallout of tax increases while Democrats cannot stomach
program cuts.

It is becoming apparent that the university will have to work to
save itself.

Implementing enrollment caps, though they carry the potential to
shut out worthy students, appears to be the only option remaining
to administrators. If at all possible, the UC should avoid program
cuts and fee increases ““ those options will reduce the
university’s reach and effectiveness in exchange for
short-term salvation. Enrollment caps, by contrast, allow the
university to maintain quality programs while not excluding
students on the basis of financial circumstances.

At this point, UC President Atkinson has announced a pending
minimum 25 percent fee increase and the possibility of enrollment
caps. The 25 percent jump would be necessary if legislators approve
$80.5 million of additional cuts to the UC budget. That rise would
translate into a cost of $960 per year for students and their
families ““ a fee that incoming freshmen and their families
may not have predicted when they committed to the UC. If the budget
is worse than projected, Atkinson has requested the power to raise
fees by 30 percent, for a total increase of $1,150.

At least some fee increase appears inevitable. By refusing to
temporarily raise taxes to cover the budget shortfall, many
legislators have instead insisted on massive statewide cuts. Their
stubborn political stance means that a small number of Californians
““ students ““ must now shoulder a massive share of the
statewide problem.

The UC has built its reputation as the nation’s premiere
public university system on its programs and their effects on
education and society. It is impossible to assume that cuts, even
if they are “temporary,” will not affect that
reputation.

In a recent announcement, Atkinson suggested that the university
would consider enrollment caps to reduce their costs. These caps
are distasteful as a long-term solution, but they are necessary in
a time of shortage. Enrollment caps would allow the university to
control costs while maintaining a culture of excellence. The caps
are not designed to bar “lesser” students, but are
merely a temporarily measure to protect the university from a
financial crisis.

State leaders should not use this budget crisis as an excuse to
abandon the goal of having an elite, yet truly public, university
system. Yes, it is difficult to fund a network of major research
universities, but the social and educational benefits speak for
themselves.

Funding higher education is not a problem that is going to
immediately vanish, even if the economy improves. By 2010,
enrollment at universities may rise by as much as 37 percent
compared to 1998.

State and UC leaders have been successful in creating an
educational powerhouse, but now they must preserve that success.
Raising student fees while cutting programs will only hurt those
students who will lead the next generation. The state must find a
way to prevent temporary decay while a long-term solution is found
““ a solution unblemished by the increasingly ugly Sacramento
politicking.

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