UC education should not be undervalued

After a 100-day delay, the state budget was signed into effect Friday, increasing funding for the University of California as well as state and community colleges.

At the risk of sounding negative despite the allocation of $370.4 million to the UC, this board remains frustrated with the trend of undervaluing education.

With $199 million restored to last year’s 20 percent cut ($637.1 million) from the UC’s general funds and other allocations, the system still receives 10 percent less from the state than it did in 2007-2008.

We understand that there is not always enough funding to go around, but the university is perched precariously on the state’s financial seesaw ““ funds are slashed and given back in part the following year. The UC will only be stable as a public university when it receives equal, if not increased, funding in coming years.

However, the blame does not lie solely with the state; education will surely not be prioritized if it is not key for voters as well.

What this board fails to understand is why education, within and beyond the UC, does not hold more weight for California. We simply do not understand the rationale for the instability of such crucial funding.

If there are reasons education should not be prioritized, we encourage you, reader, to submit them to us. In the meantime, here are a few reminders on why undervaluing the university hurts everyone.

1. For most of our lives, we are all invested in education in some capacity. Personally, through a child or grandchild, friend or coworker, we all experience the effects of an underfunded system.

2. The University of California is one of the largest employers in the state. The repercussions of poor funding reverberate far beyond the academic community.

3. The rationale for restructured classes and syllabi should not be budget cuts. Fewer TAs or none at all burdens those who remain with an almost unmanageable workload or forces professors to hire graders. This leaves students with few opportunities to interact with instructors and makes personalized academic settings nearly impossible to create.

4. Diminished course offerings eliminates the opportunity for professors to teach their specialization and their passion, and often leaves students with a cursory knowledge of the bare essentials of their field. Degrees should be more than a straight shot through the basics.

5. The university must remain competitive with academic salaries and pension plans to attract and retain key faculty members who contribute to the quality and prestige of the university.

The bar is set high. How are we expected to clear it, if the university is always in a financial ditch?

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