US: California’s higher education apocalypse

The fiscal crisis in California, the world’s eighth largest economy, seems destined to jeopardise the integrity – and future – of higher education in the state. Events escalated at the beginning of the state’s new fiscal year on 1 July when the optimistic budget package signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in February proved to be untenable.

Without anticipated income and tax revenues, California’s $24 billion budget deficit now requires draconian measures. To wit, the state has voted to cut $16 billion from its programmes and beg, borrow or steal the remaining $8 billion from municipal and state coffers. The two university networks – the University of California and the California State University – expect to have their budgets cut by 20%, from $3.61 billion to $2.79 billion in 2009-10.

Read this informative and interesting article by Sarah King Head in the August 30, 2009 issue of UNIVERSITY WORLD NEWS – http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20090827175130734.