UC Davis is identifying its most essential educational outreach functions and working to gain lawmakers' support in budget negotiations as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposes to eliminate state funding for UC outreach.
Missing from the governor's proposed state budget for 2004-05 is almost $2 million in state funds that UC Davis has used not only in its work with K-12 students, schools and teachers, but also to recruit its freshman class, smooth the way for students transferring from California's community colleges, and encourage underrepresented students to enroll as graduate and professional students.
The governor's proposed elimination of state funding for outreach in next year's budget follows earlier blows. His mid-year cut to such programs -- made under his new fiscal emergency powers -- amounted to a loss of almost $2.2 million at UC Davis. Under former Gov. Gray Davis, state funding for School/University Partnerships was eliminated in the 2002-03 budget, and state funding for student-centered programs was cut by 50 percent, or $2.2 million for UC Davis, in the 2003-04 budget.
"It's very hard to envision how we would operate and what the campus would be like without these outreach efforts," said Yvonne Marsh, assistant vice chancellor for Student Affairs and co-chair of the campus steering committee on outreach. "Already cuts have forced us to reduce our staff, our programs and our services to students from elementary through graduate and professional schools."
Some programs are using funds carried over from previous years, and both the campus and Office of the President are providing some limited transitional funds to support reduced programming until the state budget is finalized. Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Virginia Hinshaw recently announced that the campus's outreach programs would not be subject to the general campus budget reductions she recently assigned to deans and vice chancellors because the governor's budget proposal eliminates their state funding.
Advocacy efforts
A group with representatives from campus outreach interests and the Office of Government and Community Relations, formed even before the mid-year cut was announced, has been coordinating communication and advocacy efforts.
"We hope, with others in the education system, to present a compelling case for the effectiveness of outreach programs so that the governor and the legislature will restore funding to the programs based on their merit and service to students in the state," said Matthew Hargove, director of government relations.
Earlier this year, Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef met with several key elected officials, including Assemblymember Darrell Steinberg, then chair of appropriations and now budget chair, and Assembly Republican Leader Dave Cox. Other campus representatives, including Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Judy Sakaki, have met with Assemblymember Lois Wolk, Sen. Mike Machado and other state legislators to discuss how important outreach programs are to maintaining a world-class university.
The committee also is helping to bring UC Davis students and other representatives to budget hearings and other events that offer opportunities to help lawmakers understand the benefits of outreach programs.
Meanwhile, at the request of Hinshaw, Sakaki has prepared a report identifying the most essential outreach functions for funding consideration in the campus operating budget. The top priorities of the report are those outreach activities necessary to enroll the next class and participate in systemwide admissions programs, to meet contractual obligations, and to help some regional students prepare academically for university. Both the provost and the Office of the President have asked for information on funding that may be needed from July through December as the campus adjusts to what the new state budget brings.
"We have to meet campus enrollment goals," Marsh said. "We really must have the infrastructure to do that."
Bringing in the class
While some may think outreach includes only programs working with K-12 students or their schools, the cuts to outreach have immediate implications for admissions, Marsh said.
Longstanding programs that build relationships with schools and colleges, provide admission and enrollment information to prospective students and their families, and recruit highly qualified students have lost $276,000 in state funds this academic year. The office of Undergraduate Admissions and Outreach Services has already cut back on school visits, shortened the hours of its advising desk in Mrak Hall and reduced recruitment trips by alumni volunteers.
Interim Director Leslie Campbell said that if some state funding is not restored or campus funds are not made available for 2004-05, services could be severely curtailed or eliminated. These may include the advising desk, which serves about 20,000 people a year; visits to high schools and community colleges; events for prospective and admitted students, such as Preview Day and Welcome Week; and programs that connect high-achieving students with faculty, deans and current students.
Programs at work in the community colleges also have lost state funds just as the governor plans to have more UC students start their postsecondary education at community colleges. Proposed cuts include funding for programs that offer early provisional admission and that guide students through the transition.
Michael Dang, who oversees transfer programs, said community college students would lose access to vital advising services and have less certainty about their ability to transfer to UC Davis. He also foresees a reduction in the number and quality of transfer applications. And with 16.7 positions lost in the admissions office this year, the cuts even affect the reading of applications.
Early Academic Outreach Program
But Marsh also doesn't want anyone to miss the point that the budget cuts are also reaching into the future of the university and individual children's lives.
Amie Mackert of Woodland is a success story of the Early Academic Outreach Program, an academic preparation program also experiencing budget cuts. The daughter of lower-income parents who did not go to college, she wasn't thinking of higher education until she was invited to join the EAOP program.
Mackert says the program helped her understand the importance of college and how to get there. And a visit to campus through EAOP inspired her. "Without this program, I would not be where I am today," said the Woodland High School senior, who is choosing to attend UC Davis after receiving admission offers from four universities.
Attracting students who are low income, first generation and underrepresented at UC campuses, EAOP serves thousands of students a year with academic enrichment programs, college advising and mentoring. Now Edward Aguilar, director of the decades old program, is concerned that it won't be able to open doors to higher education like it did for Mackert.
This year, the program lost 5.5 positions, reduced its services in the Stockton area, and decreased both the number of its student employees and their hours. Like other outreach staff, Aguilar says the budget cuts take away the human touch that motivates, inspires and connects students to the possibility of college and the opportunities at UC Davis.
"A child from Woodland may be just 20 miles away," said Aguilar, "but for many students and parents, psychologically UC Davis is a thousand miles away."
Alternative funding
The recent cuts come as outreach programs are striving to find alternative sources of funding. "We reinvigorated our efforts to seek support from the schools, from outside grants and other sources to continue these programs," Marsh said.
Since its state funding was eliminated, the School/University Partnership Office has survived on grants, fees for service and carry-over funds from a cautious business plan. Manager Daniel Roy said the office can operate for about one more year.
In what he says is recognition of the effectiveness of UC Davis partnerships with low-performing schools, districts are purchasing a tutor training service; paying for half of five positions in the schools; and contributing toward materials for Reservation for College, a program that helps motivate elementary school students to attend college.
"We have proved that -- if at least one-third of our original state funding is restored -- we can generate sufficient outside funding to be self-supporting," said Roy. "Give us a very modest core, and let us flourish."
Graduate Studies and School of Law
Dean Jeffery Gibeling says the loss of outreach funds will make it more difficult for Graduate Studies to recruit and enroll a diverse student body at a time when the campus is seeking to increase graduate student numbers. The outreach budget of $44,000 was reduced by 50 percent in 2003-04 and now faces elimination.
He says the division won't be able to send representatives to as many graduate fairs and academic meetings to meet with prospective students. Last fall, Graduate Studies participated in events at all UC and most California State University campuses, and the division was represented at about 10 meetings geared toward underrepresented students.
"Part of this is serving the whole population of the state of California," said Gibeling. "Many UC Ph.D. recipients seek teaching careers, and if we want to have faculty in both of California's university systems that reflect the diverse population of the state, there's no alternative."
At the law school, too, state outreach and UC matching funds of $171,000 face the threat of elimination. After the 50 percent cut this budget year, the school shifted its outreach coordinator position to professional fees and is cutting back on its attendance at law forums and graduate fairs across the country.
"This could have a dramatic effect on the composition of the law school," said associate dean Kevin Johnson.