Broad Principles for Budget Reductions
Revised by the CUP Planning Committee
2/4/04

The University's commitment to access, affordability, high quality teaching, and excellence in programs requires a commensurate commitment of resources by the citizens of California through their legislature and governor. Our commitment will be sorely tested over the next several years as the ongoing budget crisis reduces the state's commitment through significant budget reductions for CSUS. All efforts must be made to ensure ongoing, open communication among all segments of the campus community during this entire process. The broad principles below are recommended to the President for use in determining the distribution of the reductions. The overriding principle guiding budget reduction decisions is to protect, to the greatest extent possible, the primary educational mission of undergraduate and graduate instruction at CSUS. To this end, CSUS will give priority to funding core classroom instructional needs, student services, and libraries. However, it is recognized that other functions of the University, such as academic support, maintenance and operations, are also important to maintaining educational quality.

To this end, CSUS shall ensure that budget reductions are made using the following principles:

1. Alternative funding sources should be used, to the extent permissible under law, to help mitigate the impact of budget reductions on students, faculty and staff.
    
2. Administrative costs should be reduced, while at the same time maintaining sufficient resources necessary for the campus to operate efficiently, serve students effectively, manage the university, and remain accountable to the state.
    
3. Institutional resources unallocated at this point should be used first before making any other budget reductions.
    
4. Insofar as possible, the layoff of tenured/probationary faculty and permanent/probationary staff should be avoided.
    
5. Budget reductions should be apportioned to mitigate their impact on the quality and availability of CSUS class offerings, student services and libraries. For example:

• Insofar as possible, current SFR levels should be maintained.
• CSUS must not exceed its budgeted CY enrollment target.
• Enrollment controls used to achieve budgeted targets should preserve an appropriate mix and balance among academic programs and the diversity of the student body.
• CSUS should provide adequate course offerings for enrolled students, with particular attention paid to retention and progress to degree.
• Budget cuts should be made with sensitivity to small majors.

6. The following principles are concerned with management of the budget reductions:

• Cuts should be implemented strategically, looking at the impact of proposed cuts on units and their ability to make them; across-the-board cuts should not be the only solution.
• The budget cuts should be viewed when possible as a multi-year issue.
• CSUS should keep track of what it cuts or puts on hold (including the data on enrollment, class sections, etc., enumerated in the attached Joint CSU/CFA 2003-04 Supplemental Report); when times get better, there should be a formal process to consider restoration of funding.

7. A process should be established for soliciting and implementing ideas for achieving further cost savings. Examples include, but are not limited to the following:

• Reassess contract agreements to see if anything can be postponed or cancelled.
• Consider postponing rules that might be barriers to cost savings.
• Look at relationships with auxiliaries.
• Examine new and ongoing initiatives (e. g., CMS) and cut back or eliminate where possible

Attachment

Joint CSU/CFA 2003-04 Supplemental Report Language Proposal

It is the intent of the Legislature that reductions to the California State University (CSU) budget in 2003- 04 be implemented to protect, to the greatest extent possible, the CSU's primary educational mission of undergraduate and graduate instruction, as defined in Education Code Section 66010.4. To this end, the CSU will give priority to funding core classroom instructional needs, student services, and libraries. It is recognized that other functions of the CSU, such as academic support and maintenance and operations, help to maintain the system's educational quality.

In addition, the CSU shall:

1. Ensure that budget reductions are apportioned to mitigate their impact on the quality and availability of CSU class offerings, student services and libraries.
    
2. Use alternative funding sources, to the extent permissible under law, to help mitigate the impact of budget reductions on students, faculty and staff.
    
3. Reduce administrative costs, while at the same time maintaining sufficient resources necessary for the campuses and system to operate efficiently, serve students effectively, manage the CSU system and remain accountable to the state.
    
4. Defer expenses in 2003-04 for implementation of the Common Management System (CMS) on campuses proposing new start-up projects, where feasible.

The CSU shall report the following to the Department of Finance, Legislative Analyst's Office and appropriate legislative committees by March 30, 2004:

• The total number (both headcount and full-time equivalents) of tenured and tenure-track faculty; lecturers; represented staff; and MPP personnel employed by the CSU in October 2002 and October 2003.
• Total student enrollment (both headcount and full-time equivalents) in the Fall terms of 2002 and 2003.

The CSU shall report the following to the Department of Finance, Legislative Analyst's Office and appropriate legislative committees by November 1, 2004:

• The total number (both headcount and full-time equivalents) of tenured and tenure track faculty; lecturers; represented staff; and MPP personnel employed by the CSU in March 2003 and March 2004.
• Total student enrollment (both headcount and full-time equivalents) in the Spring terms of 2003 and 2004.
• Average class size in both 2002-03 and 2003-04.
• The total number of course sections taught in 2002-03 and 2003-04.
• Total actual expenditures by program and subprogram area in both 2002-03 and 2003-04.

The CSU shall also report by November 1, 2004 on the deferral, if any, of CMS implementation costs during fiscal year 2003-04; and the use, if any, of alternative funding sources used to help mitigate the impact of the 2003-04 budget reductions.