Ãå±±½ûµØ

Dear Ãå±±½ûµØ community,

Welcome back for spring semester 2025! Our community will see a number of positive changes beginning this spring, including a new physical land acknowledgement sculpture near the southwest corner of the CORE, a more welcoming environment for students in the Student Services and Administration (SA) building, the full occupancy of the Braddock Center—and the name for our brand new falcon mascot.

In full transparency and open communication, and especially in light of recent announcements from Sonoma State University, I am writing today to provide a further update on our actions and changes in response to our structural budget deficit. As a reminder, please see a similar update I provided at the beginning of the fall 2024 semester. We began the academic year projecting a structural deficit of $14 million. I am happy to report we are making progress on closing that gap, and we continue to do so with a laser focus on strategic priorities of supporting equitable student success and achieving financial sustainability. 

General Savings
In addition to targeted expense reduction actions, our general spending has produced an approximate $4.5 million of additional savings for the year. Thank you for your diligence in making sure our spending is focused on truly essential activities that allow us to continue to meet student needs.

Governor's Budget Proposal
The governor has released his initial . Unfortunately, despite improvements in the state’s revenues, the governor’s proposal includes a . In addition, the Chancellor’s Office may go forward with its program to reduce our portion of the state allocation an additional 5% for a potential total cut of 12.95%. As you are aware, nothing is final at the present time and much can happen between now and June 30 when the final budget bill is signed. The CSU System is planning an advocacy campaign, and we are carefully monitoring state revenues. However, I want to be completely transparent with you about what could happen to us in July and the next academic year. I will keep you informed as we learn more.

University Budget Advisory Committee (UBAC)
The new UBAC, co-chaired by VP Myeshia Armstrong and Professor and Senate COBRA Chair Paul Carpenter, has been meeting regularly. Ãå±±½ûµØ published its first annual financial report to provide more transparent financial information to the campus community on an ongoing basis. UBAC will continue to play an important advisory role as we work to address future budget and changing conditions. 

Enrollment for Spring
We experienced an enrollment decline in the fall, and though we do not have our final numbers for spring 2025, it appears that we will be able to maintain our current enrollment level with no further declines. Further, with the work of Interim VP for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management, Dr. Brenda Amenson-Hill and her team, our applications for fall 2025 are up in all categories. We have implemented innovative programs like direct admission for local school districts and a variety of yield activities to ensure students who have applied will enroll and join our community in the fall. I appreciate your enthusiasm and willingness to participate in these new and impactful activities.

Annual Schedule – Faculty Assignments
We will continue our practice of developing an annual course schedule, beginning with course assignments for our full-time tenure and tenure track faculty (TTF). Due to changes in faculty workload reassignments, more of our TTF faculty will be teaching full course loads next year and this may affect lecturer workloads in some programs. Based on data, course schedules will emphasize required courses at times and formats that meet student needs.

Focused Program Review
Following the Chancellor’s directive in AY2023-24 to review low degree conferring programs, we will continue to closely review all degree programs, minors, and concentrations that have consistently low enrollments, and we will recommend a path forward for those programs. We will soon form a new advisory committee, including elected faculty, to assist with this review. Recommendations from the AY2023-24 review are moving forward following existing Senate committees and policies and conferring with the CFA when required. In a somewhat parallel process, University Extension is conducting its own review of self-support programs with a focus on meeting current workforce needs.

College Reorganization
Our new four-college structure, to include the College of Health, will launch in fall 2025. I will announce my final decision and our final structure after reviewing all feedback and recommendations. Maintaining four rather than expanding to five colleges is part of our current expense reduction strategy.

Facilities Savings
We have completed decommissioning Robinson Hall. All activities and offices have been moved to other locations on campus. We are moving forward with vacating the Oakland location as that lease will terminate on June 30, 2025. We expanded our energy conservation program over the winter break. Together, these actions will result in substantial savings going forward.

Again, I am grateful for our entire community’s work to reduce expenses where possible and to keep our focus on meeting student needs and fostering their success. I am proud of our ability to confront our reality and manage change. As we continue to address the various changes affecting us, there are many ways you can keep yourself informed. Please see the list below for links to key financial information sources.

• Guiding Principles for Budget Reductions (our strategy)
• University Budget Advisory Committee
• Academic Senate Committee on Budget and Resource Allocation (COBRA) reports
• Office of the President