Conclusions from Breakout Sessions – Academic Conference
Compiled and Summarized by Praveen Soni, ASCSU
1. Issue – Inadequate funding of the California State University
Problems/Constraints
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Insufficient state revenues and competing demands on them.
Higher education is discretionary, not mandatory spending by the state.
Federal money going to for-profit institutions.
Political polarization around the value of public higher education.
CSU Board of Trustees agreement with the Governor to hold tuition constant.
Inability of CSU students to pay higher tuition due to socio-economic status.
Recommendations
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Educate the legislature and the California citizenry about the value of higher
education in the global economy and to society, and treat higher education as
a public good.
Obtain a more stable and dedicated revenue stream for public higher
education through a ballot proposition or such as the Oil Severance Tax.
Mobilize and leverage the three million alumni to attract private investment
to the CSU for student access and program quality.
Consider charging tuition based on units taken rather than a two-tier
structure.
Consider reduction in size of the CSU to align with the funding.
2. Challenge – Providing a meaningful and quality education while trying to
meet the goals of the graduation initiative
Problems/Constraints
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Lack of tenure track faculty and the recent decline in tenure density.
Increase in faculty workload and decrease in morale.
Unprepared students entering the CSU.
Working students – lack of time for education.
Recommendations
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Develop a goal and a plan to increase the number of tenure track faculty so
as to maintain the integrity of programs.
Develop writing and mathematical proficiencies.
Reduce remediation by focusing on student access, support and success.
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Consider other countries’ approaches such as Australia’s focus on
entrepreneurship and internships, and three-year degrees as in Europe and
UK, which focus on the major.
Reasonably sized classes and hybrid classes. Use block scheduling for
freshmen.
3. Challenge – Closing the achievement gap, inequities and graduation rates of
underrepresented and first-generation students. Enrolling and graduating
more males. Sense of social justice and values.
Recommendations
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Learn about nationwide and CSU best practices and pedagogies that work
well close the achievement gap.
Develop specific targeted “boutique” programs and differential pedagogies
for underrepresented minorities (URM) across all CSU campuses.
Improve the campus climate to make it more inviting for all students,
especially underrepresented minorities.
Try programs that pay URM students so they work less, thereby providing
more time for classes and coursework.
4. Challenge – The CSU System itself
Problems/Constraints
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May be cost efficient, but often a barrier leading to conformity and insipid
leadership.
Money/Resources across campuses. Differences in resources due to size and
location of campuses.
Recommendations
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Encourage Trustees to tour campuses and understand the fabric of the CSU.
Create a sustainable academic/financial model that more effectively utilizes
resources. Rethink business model.
Evaluate different models for funding campuses, not just FTES allocation.
Student Success Fees are “troublesome” and result in vast differences in
funds between campuses.
5. Challenge – Maintenance and Update of Infrastructure/Technology,
Academic Processes and Policy
Recommendations
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Update and maintain admission and records systems to establish universal
registration, streamline course registration across CSU campuses, and
centralize transcripts across the CSU.
Admit undergraduates to the CSU system as a whole while assigning each to a
particular “host” campus “credited” for the individualized program and
statistical purposes to boost progress to degree.
Update and maintain technology to better support online and hybrid
instruction, as well as standardize online instructional support delivery
systems (Moodle/Blackboard).
Update and maintain other infrastructure to better support student success
and equipment for student learning.
Augment high quality faculty professional development opportunities.
Constraints
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Resources required to articulate CSU courses across campuses and to
establish the centralization of transcripts.
Attitudes about centralization and process/technological standardization in
view of different campus character and differential ideas about policy
implementation (e.g. GE).
Aging-out and erosion of current technology and infrastructure without
dedicated budgets to upgrade and maintain.
No ongoing mechanisms for professional development delivery; teaching
workload; motivation.
6. Issue/Challenge – Empirical Evidence – Collection, Visibility, and
Implementation
Recommendations
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Lobby the state government to approve legislation that would create and
maintain a database of alumni in terms of their continued education and job
attainment, like the CPEC.
Data to show the greater value of the CSU for the public vs. the “for-profits.”
Mount highly visible, empirically based public campaigns to leverage
appropriate government support for the CSU.
Constraints
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Current budget climate for establishing and maintaining such a database.
Overcoming a long tradition of thinking which values time to degree and
individual job paths, rather than contribution to statewide functioning.
Underdeveloped campus PR capabilities.