UC System Budget Failure/ Davis

[Llama Slug]

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I work at a University of California school which makes me privy to a lot of the budget discussions so far as system wide deficit, cuts, tuition raises etc go.

The long and short of it is that the entire UC system is in a world of hurt. "Campuses have already begun eliminating positions, imposing severe restrictions on faculty hiring and eliminating or modifying programs." Additionally, there have been severe restrictions placed on equipment and other purchases and, the kicker: they have recently approved 9.3% student fee increases I assume this applies to veterinary students as well.

There has been talk of firing up to 20% of the supporting staff system wide in addition to talk of forcing unpaid leave or cutting the pay of all remaining staff members.

According to the letter i received today, "The remainder of the projected cuts will fall to the campuses and likely will affect course availability, class size, student services, and other aspects of the educational program."

Im curious as to what this may mean for future applicants and present UC Davis vet students. Does anyone know if this will change the number of students admitted? What about tuition spikes? Facilities and quality of facilities and equipment? What does this mean for student loans and financial aid? A lot of us will be relying on state funding and chances are it will be limited.

Any insight? Thoughts? Suggestions?

I've attached a copy of the official letter sent out today to all faculty and staff regarding the situation for those of you who want more insight on the "official" word.

 

[alliecat44]

Seems as though it's a scary time everywhere, but especially so in California. Sheesh. Pretty terrifying. Wouldn't be surprised if many schools (universities/colleges--not vet schools) end up closing due to budet shortfalls. I imagine this WILL have an impact on student tuition, class size, etc at UCD, but I think it's pretty clear from the memo that absolutely no specifics are even close to being decided upon.

As a side note, do you think the UC system would be happy with having that memo posted here?

 

[Llama Slug]

... i doubt they would be extremely pleased but all their budget information, pay scales etc are supposed to be public knowledge since it is all tax supported. And i assumed that letter and/ or the results of the discussion regarding it will be published very soon.

I also think they worded their case, justification etc far better than I could.

I dont think it will stop me from applying but it is food for thought and something to keep an eye on so far as program goes since in general UC davis is consistently very good.

 

[Nexx]

I would think that this potentially means that class size and tuition go up, with no increase in actual resources for students/staff.

As for state funding for students.. you may have to rely on more federal funding instead of state funds.

 

[VAgirl]

It's interesting, because we've been getting regular emails about it too, which I keep scanning for an idea of what our new tuition and fees will look like. I just found this link the other day. http://facts.ucdavis.edu/current_fees_tuition.lasso I know it's not the most current, but the info is only about a month old. I have no idea if those are the final numbers, but they don't look as awful as I was thinking they would be. Something shy of a 9.2% increase over tuition and fees last year. (Something closer to a 9.5% increase over last year's OOS tuition and fees.)

I guess I fully expected it to be a 10% increase, because on average the cost of vet school has gone up 10% every year since the early 1980s. *shrug* Times are hard, but if those are the final numbers, I can live with it. Fingers crossed that they really are.

And before everyone gets panicky, I cannot imagine the school is going to close. There have been economic crises before. Belts are being tightened, but the school will keep functioning, I have no doubt.

 

[eventualeventer]

It seems they have leeway to raise tuition for in-state students, too. The Univ. of MD has raised IS tuition for undergrads significantly in the last 5 or so years, although met with howls of protest.

Given the state of MD and VA's budgets, I would be surprised if VMRCVM tuition didn't start going up, too -- they have pretty low IS tuition as it is. Even with those tuition raises a couple years ago, Univ. of MD is tightening its belt considerably, so I don't think VA is going to get much help from MD.

Nexx -- unlikely to happen, unless some of this stimulus money is being sent to vet schools.

On the bright side for those who haven't gotten in yet, a politically expedient way to raise money is to allow in more OOS students, who pay more in tuition. VMRCVM has added some OOS seats to its class.

ETA: Due to FOIA and other laws, at least in MD every cent of the state university's budget is freely available to the public. They don't exactly advertise it online, but any concerned citizen can go the campus and look at an 800 page document detailing everyone's salary and exactly how much money each department has for what.

 

[sumstorm]

We had a student voted $200 raise in fees (from what I understand) last year with the money going to the school...now the state is talking about another $200 increase that would go to the state. That bothers me.

 

[ckgilabert]

they cancelled all the summer school classes at cal poly pomona.

sort sucks for people that needed to take extra classes to graduate early or on time.

AND they're talking about firing people too.

 

[Bill59]

Most schools are already raising tuition and many are increasing class size in order to increase income. Some have a hiring freeze which in some cases includes not filling open positions, including decreasing the number of interns and residents. Of course raises for faculty and staff are and some schools have even cut salaries for some faculty.

So you end up with more work being done by less people getting less pay. This works for the short term but if it goes on too long you get into real trouble. You get behind on facilities and equipment and your faculty go elsewhere -- with typically the best faculty being the first to go.

They might cut a lab or elective here and there, but actually closing the school and the hospitals would be suicide.

 

[Nexx]

...unlikely to happen, unless some of this stimulus money is being sent to vet schools.

I was more referring to federal loans... not that free grant money I never saw/see any of 😛