Graduate students at UCSB have already begun to feel the impacts of recent decisions regarding the California state budget, the University of California budget and UCSB’s budget. We have already heard of graduate students at UCSB quitting their programs for lack of funding resources. Teaching assistantships have been cut and/or restricted to students within their home departments. The impacts will be far more sweeping, however. All aspects of our educational experience will be affected by budget cuts, ranging from departmental support to academic and student support services to Graduate Division resources. Graduate employment opportunities will be tougher to come by as courses and educational support services are cut. As a means to address less funding from the state, the Regents raised UC’s annual tuition by 9.3 percent in May 2009 and have proposed raising student fees by another 32 percent in the very near future. In other words, we will be paying more for fewer class options, larger class sizes, and increased time to graduation.
What Can You Do?
Email University of California President Mark Yudof and tell him student fee hikes, furloughs, staff and faculty reductions, cuts to instruction, and cuts to services will make the UC’s standing as the nation’s most prestigious public higher education system a thing of the past. Don’t hurt the UC!
Email State Public Officials and tell them that funding to the University of California is an investment in California, that fee hikes, furloughs, staff and faculty reductions, cuts to instruction, and cuts to services make the University system a less attractive option for the best and brightest students, faculty, and staff. Don’t hurt California!
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
Email the UC Board of Regents and tell them to keep the UC an affordable institution, student fee hikes, furloughs, staff and faculty reductions, cuts to instruction, and cuts to services will make the UC’s standing as the nation’s most prestigious public higher education system a thing of the past. Don’t hurt students, faculty, or staff!