University cuts made to spare students' needs

By Sara Pacheco

The university’s eight colleges and other programs announced where they would trim Fresno State’s $21.1 million budget shortfall last week.

All of the colleges within the school had budget cuts and reductions this year, including the office of Academic Affairs, Kenneth Shipley, associate provost of Academic Services, said.

Campus divisions, which includes the academic affairs office and the student affairs office, and both the administrative and the president’s offices is to have about $1 million cut from their budgets.

But about $1 million is also to be cut from technology funds and management positions around the campus.

The administration of Fresno State is also concerned about these recent cuts in the budget and the increase in student fees, but the main focus for the campus community is that the students are the most important, and that all students need to be educated properly, even if it means cuts have to be made.

Fresno State’s level-B divisions, which include the eight colleges, the graduate studies program and the continuing/global education program, worked to make sure that the students would not bear the major impact of the reductions.

The goal of the administration, Shipley said, is to make sure the students of Fresno State do not have their education hindered by budget cuts.

The administration, when discussing their new budget issues, tried to ensure that professors and teachers did not lose their jobs as well. This caution when it comes to teachers’ job securities also means that fewer classes needed to be cancelled this semester. There were over 4600 classes available for registration this fall, and out of that number, only about 150 classes were cancelled.

Shipley said about $65 million is the current combined budget that the colleges around the campus have, helping to educate the 20,000 plus enrollment of students here at Fresno State.

In August, President John Welty wrote in a letter to the campus community of Fresno State that after the Legislature passed its 2003-04 budgets, Fresno State would have a budget reduction of $21.1 million, which is only 12 percent of last year’s base budget. Of this $21.1 million, at least $17 million was expected by the university after the governor released his budget in January of this year.

But state legislature cut the additional $4 million last month.

Budget issues have also caused the campus to have a zero enrollment growth for 2004-05. Enrollment for the spring semester is now closed to first-time freshmen and lower-division transfer students. Beginning in October, however, applications for the fall 2004 semester will be accepted.