CSU budget lacking $215 million

With the state budget finally getting an approval, schools and university’s now know how much funding they will receive.

The CSU system is still getting the same funding from the state but it’s not quite enough for its operational needs.

This just in from CSU:

“The new state budget provides the California State University system with essentially the same level of state support as last year. The final CSU budget consists of $2.97 billion from the state General Fund and $1.5 billion from student fee revenue. The budget is $215 million below CSU’s operational needs for 2008-09, according to the inflation and enrollment growth calculations by the Governor’s Department of Finance.

“We are appreciative of the Governor and Legislature for keeping intact our budget as presented in the May Revision, in spite of a worsened fiscal condition in the state,” said CSU Chancellor Charles B. Reed. “Although we still face a serious funding gap, the CSU is committed to preserving academic quality and academic programs that are of high priority for the social and economic well being of California.”

Continued Growth, Strained Funding
The budget provides no funding for enrollment growth intensifying a trend that began in 2005-06, in which student enrollment grows faster than state funding. In response, CSU campuses have increased class sizes when possible, and opened more course sections with temporary faculty appointments. To protect educational quality in the face of these funding challenges, CSU campuses will slow down enrollment growth by closing the freshmen application period for Fall 2009 earlier in the cycle.”