San José State University, the founding member of the California State University system, opens doors for thousands of students in Silicon Valley each year, supporting innovation through research and development, and fueling our economy with talent pipelines and industry partnerships with the region’s leading technology companies.
Yet today, state leaders are considering $375 million in proposed budget cuts to the CSU system. In response, SJSU is planning a $25 million budget reduction to prepare for the potential impact. Despite strong enrollment, responsible fiscal management and tough budget choices in recent years, even a campus as resilient as ours would be severely impacted. These cuts could result in up to 4% of state funding at SJSU.
If these cuts go into effect, they will cause irreparable harm to the state and our future workforce. Students would face fewer courses, longer times to graduation and reduced access to vital services like academic advising and mental health care.
The consequences would fall hardest on first-generation, low-income and underrepresented students — the very Californians higher education is designed to uplift. In addition, these reductions would slow efforts to expand California’s healthcare, education and technology workforces, weakening the state’s competitiveness.
Composed of 23 campuses and seven off-campus centers, CSU is the single largest public university system in the nation. Thirty institutions enroll more than 450,000 students. Most of those students are from California, and many are the very first in their families to attend college.
SJSU enrolls 37,000 students a year. What’s more, SJSU graduates 1,800 engineers each year. That’s just under 8% of all engineers graduated in California. A cut of this magnitude would send the message that California is willing to risk its competitive edge.
As the state faces an urgent need for qualified teachers — especially in early childhood education — the proposed cuts would limit our ability to offer credential preparation pathways to prospective PK-12 teachers and limit our efforts to support mentor teachers who help to prepare them.
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And, at a time when demand for health care workers continues to surge, a cut to CSU funding would slow or even reverse, the cuts would also carve into SJSU’s programs that graduate nurses, public health professionals, occupational therapists and medical researchers.
At SJSU, we’re doing everything we can to be resourceful and responsible. But we cannot cut our way to excellence. We cannot shrink our budget and expect our results — and economic impact — to grow.
Now isn’t the time for the state to scale back its commitment to public higher education. Our state leaders face difficult choices, but protecting the CSU is an investment in California’s future prosperity. That’s why we urge the governor and Legislature to reject these cuts and fully fund the CSU system. Silicon Valley’s workforce, economy and future depend on it.
Cynthia Teniente-Matson is president of San José State University. Ahmad Thomas is CEO of Silicon Valley Leadership Group.
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