Now Playing: Operating the University of California Campuses Like a Business

That is Not a Compliment

The budget woes of California have produced severe cuts in all programs, and the state’s college and university system is no different.  Here is a New York Times report of the impact of the budget cuts.

Tuition is expected to rise roughly 20 percent next year, just the latest in series of steep increases. Yearly in-state tuition at California State University will average about $5,500, while at the University of California, it is expected to be $13,200 if the increases are approved this month. Programs all over the state are being shuttered, star professors are leaving for colleges in other states, faculty positions are being left unfilled and class sizes are continuing to grow. While the state’s spending on the system is down to a level not seen since the late-1990s, the campuses enroll tens of thousands more students

And here is a report in the Los Angeles Times on one particular campus.

California State University is proposing to pay the new president of its San Diego campus $100,000 more annually than his predecessor, a move that is raising hackles as the university grapples with another round of student tuition hikes amid deep state funding cuts.

If the plan is approved Tuesday by the Cal State Board of Trustees, San Diego State President Elliot Hirshman would receive $100,000 more than his predecessor. (Earnie Grafton / San Diego Union Tribune

So yes, just like American companies have given astronomical pay increases to the top level executives while at the same time cutting jobs, and benefits for their labor force, California is making massive cuts in state aid to higher education while at the same time giving massive raises to the top executives in the university system.

The Dismal Political Economist thinks they have the perfect response to any criticism, which is “The public wants government to operate more like a private business, well that’s what we are doing.”

Great argument, can’t find any fault with that logic.