CSU chief's concern is quality

Chancellor Reed says system will continue to educate students and supply state despite aid cuts, cost increases

By Laban Pelz

The Collegian

Though faced with an increase in fees and a decrease in government aid, California State University students are still receiving the best possible education for their money, CSU Chancellor Charles Reed said Monday.

On a visit to Fresno State, Reed said CSU students’ costs are still among the lowest in the country, and said the state will still provide for its neediest students. He refuted claims that higher education is slipping out of the reach of those from lower-income families.

“That’s probably not true in California,” he said, noting Cal Grants and other allowances pay the tuition for students from families making less than $60,000 annually. “We anticipate grants to 160,000 students (for next year).”

Reed said paying for college becomes tougher for students from slightly wealthier families.

“The group of students in next bracket up are the hardest hit,” he said. “The lower, middle-income students.”

Reed said the recent CSU Board of Trustees decision to raise student fees by 8 percent next year and then by 10 percent each of the following four years was made with the value of education in mind.

“One never likes or wants to increase student fees, but if we don’t keep our eye on quality, then we haven’t served students as well as we need to,” he said. “We can’t do something with nothing.”

Reed said the CSU system’s fees are still relatively low, and the value of education high.

“We provide an outstanding, quality product for the revenue we have,” he said.

Reed also noted the fee increases are not yet final.

“At any time the state can step in and buy out those fee increases, and replace that money with state money,” he said. “Again, it’s a matter of priorities. Quality really has to drive the decisions.”

Asked if the CSU system’s fees will still be among the nation’s lowest in another five years, Reed said “I sure hope so.

“It takes a mixture of the individuals’ efforts, the institution and the government to provide a higher education, and they all share in that,” he said. “Private fundraising, federal government, state (government), students; everybody participates.”

The federal government is participating less in this process after the House of Representatives slashed $14.3 billion from student aid on Nov. 17. Reed called the cut “outrageous and not necessary.

“Student aid is an investment in America’s future, and members of Congress need to get their priorities straight, and look at what these investments will pay off,” he said.

“When people get college degrees, they’re going to pay more and higher taxes, and it’ll be repaid.”

Reed said he and others lobbied for the CSU system and “worked for months to represent the CSU students in Washington,” but noted the closeness of the final vote, 217-215, was evidence “several people got their arms twisted.”

He also said he has optimism the House conference committee, which is yet to be formed, will make the final budget come out to “somewhere closer to $7 billion than $14 [billion in cuts].”

“This falls on the most needy students,” he said. “I don’t want to see any cuts.”

The one cut Reed does want to see is to costs.

The new CSU energy policy, adopted by the Board of Trustees in late September, calls for campuses by the year 2010 to: construct their own renewable energy sources, purchase 20 percent of their power from producers who use renewable sources, reduce energy use by 15 percent, construct new buildings to meet the highest environmental standards for energy consumption and redesign existing buildings to meet the same standards.

Reed said the policy could ultimately lower student fees.

“The energy policy has a lot to do with costs,” he said. “We spend a lot of money to purchase utilities every year, and if we can do it in a better way at less cost we’re going to help the CSU.”

Reed said the CSU system is looking out for its pupils in another way.

The CSU Student Code of Conduct, which deals with academic wrongs like cheating and plagiarism but also with civil crimes like theft and vandalism, recently got its first upgrade in 20 years.

Reed said the Code’s purpose is to protect any offending students as well as the institution.

“One thing we’re sensitive to is we don’t want to hurt or ruin a student’s future,” he said. “If a student vandalizes a car, throws a rock through a window, and you go through the criminal justice system, you might make it so the student can never become a lawyer.

“But if you go through the student judicial system, then there are other sanctions available, and lessons learned, and you can go forward from there. It benefits students.”

Reed also discussed Fresno State itself, and addressed the benefits and concerns that come with the school’s athletic department.

“I am proud of Fresno State and all the athletic programs,” Reed said. “In the last couple weeks I’ve been on the East Coast, and friends say ‘how ’bout those Bulldogs?’”

Reed said the level of publicity that Fresno State is receiving this fall from its football team’s national television performances is unrivaled by any other advertisement.

“Athletics does something good for everyone,” he said. “There’s not enough money in the world to get the marketing, coverage and the word out about Fresno State than those three performances on national television will do.”

Reed said he’s kept up with Fresno State athletics during the bad times as well. He said his office lends the school support, consultation and “of course the legal support that comes with it.

“President Welty and I constantly talk about the athletic program,” Reed said. “I was a very big supporter of his last year when he needed to make some very hard decisions.”

The past few years in school athletics have seen major and minor NCAA rules violations, sanctions, fired coaches, dismissed players, lawsuits, players in trouble with the law, and a coach and athletic director who each resigned due to some combination of the above.

Reed’s advice for Fresno State:

“Not to recruit criminals. There are lots of deserving young people out there that can play a high level game of basketball, and that’s who you need to go after and recruit. Good citizens, good leaders.”

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