WHEREAS the California State University has been directed to pay back 1.2% of its General Fund appropriation for the current year, which for our campus is approximately $614,000; and
WHEREAS the California State University is aware that it may be subject to severe budget constraints for future fiscal years; and
WHEREAS the California State University system is being directed to grow by 4% next; and
WHEREAS the mission of the California State University rests on the Triple Pillars of Access, Affordability, and Quality; and
WHEREAS it is manifestly impossible to maintain simultaneously Access, Affordability, and Quality with dramatic budget constraints; and
WHEREAS, though CSU fees are among the lowest in the United States for a higher education, we philosophically dislike fees; and we believe that the original notion of the general plan for higher education -- that the education itself should be free -- is a good one, and that the victims of any fee increases will be those who can least afford them; therefore be it
RESOLVED that the Academic Senate of Sonoma State University cautions the Governor, the Legislature, the Board of Trustees, and the Chancellor that it is unreasonable to expect the campuses to educate more students with no increase in fees and no increase in per-capita state support, without a serious and unacceptable decrease in instructional effectiveness; and be it further
RESOLVED that the Academic Senate of Sonoma State University strongly recommends to the Governor, the Legislature, the Board of Trustees, and the Chancellor that, to the extent that neither a greater level of state support nor an increase in student fees are sufficient, the University, however regrettably, limit access so as to facilitate providing to students at least the current level of quality in educational services; and be it further