The Cal State University system may face a larger trigger cut than originally determined in January by Gov. Jerry Brown.
Brown released his revised budget on May 14 after the state deficit grew to $16 billion, nearly double the initial projection.
In November, voters will vote on the May revisions for the 2012-13 state budget.
If Brown’s tax iniaitve is not passed the CSU would face a $250 million trigger cut, a $50 million increase from Brown’s earlier estimate.
“What this will do is reduce enrollment for 2013 and 2014,” CSU Spokesman Erik Fallis said.
For the spring 2013 term, the CSU plans to reduce enrollment by admitting only students who have received an associate degree from a California community college. Some students will be waitlisted, depending on the outcome of the November votes.
“For the most part, students will not be able to get in as they would on a typical year,” Fallis said.
Students already enrolled at Cal State Long Beach may notice the impact due to the decreased number of resources and services on campus. This includes classes, availability of advisors, financial aid and other campus-related services.
Fallis said that each individual campus will make its own cuts.
“If those same services are stretched over another 20,000 students, then that means that every individual student is going get less of those resources,” Fallis said. “The reason a campus controls enrollment is to ensure that the students who remain get as much of an educational opportunity as possible.”
The long-term impacts of the cuts will affect workforce development and job growth, Chancellor Charles B. Reed said in a press release. He said the November elections will be crucial in determining what the CSU system will look like in the next few years.
Students can have their voices heard by teaming up with student government and explaining the need for more resources by going to local businesses, Fallis said.
“If you go to those businesses and say, ‘Look, the only reason why you are successful here is because Cal State Long Beach is right down the road, and if we went away your customer base would shrink dramatically,'” Fallis said. “Then we would inform people in the community of the importance of having a large campus close by.”
Businesses are often unaware that spending in the CSU system triggers further economic activity, Fallis said.