By Ashley A. Smith – EdSource
Enrollment growth alone doesn’t warrant creating a new California State University campus, according to a new study ordered by the state legislature.
The CSU Board of Trustees discussed the study at their meeting Tuesday.
The study examined where and how much it would cost to build a 24th CSU campus for about 7,800 more students.
The locations for a multi-billion-dollar campus included Stockton in the San Joaquin Valley Concord; Chula Vista, south of San Diego; Palm Desert and San Mateo County.
“Projected 2035 enrollment demand alone does not justify the development of a new 7,000 full-time equivalent CSU campus at any of the five evaluated locations,” according to the report, which projects a system-wide increase of approximately 43,800 full-time students over the next 15 years.
These enrollment increases can instead be accommodated across the whole system by students attending existing campuses, according to the report prepared by HOK architectural and planning firm.
Building a new traditional, satellite or branch campus would also be expensive for a system facing significant state budget cuts.
The report estimates building and maintenance costs to range from $2 billion to $3 billion for an off-campus center or new campus. The operating cost would range from $15,500 per full-time student to $17,000 per student, depending on the type of campus chosen.
A new campus could take nine years to develop, or about six years for a branch campus.
CSU Chancellor Tim White warned that opening a new campus could create tension within the system.
“It requires resources, and we can’t take them away from something that needs them to starve something else,” he said.
The Legislature put $4 million into the study last year to research the possibility of adding new campuses to CSU. But a lot has changed in the last few months, as all the CSU campuses have moved most classes online this fall amid the coronavirus pandemic. However, the study doesn’t analyze the impact the COVID-19 pandemic could and will have on enrollment and academic programming.
Board Chair Lillian Kimbell said the trustees should be thinking about how online learning may become a more permanent academic delivery model in the future.
“This catastrophic pandemic has and will probably upend the historic trends this was based on,” Kimbell said. “We may someday go back to classrooms, but this experiment we’re forced to conduct seems like it may upend our projections about the capital we’re going to need.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom initially wanted the study to focus on the Stockton area, but the Legislature approved a broader examination. Stockton has a satellite center of CSU Stanislaus. The newest campus, CSU Channel Islands, located north of Los Angeles, opened nearly two decades ago and was created out of a CSU Northridge satellite.
Another campus in San Marcos was created from a satellite of San Diego State.
However, a 2017 state Legislative Analyst’s Office report said a new CSU or UC campus wasn’t warranted. It also contended that existing colleges could accommodate projected enrollment growth.
Make them half trade schools.
Concord would be a horrible place for this unless replacing CSU east bay extension on Ygnacio.
Enough of the general b**s*** requirements in college. That should all be taught K-12. Teach/train towards the major of the student. Stop wasting parents money and student loans.
And yes @Ricardoh, I agree, make half of them Trade Schools. A crime they got rid of Trade Schools for high school kids years ago.
I agree with the above that we need more training in the trades, many of which are now technical positions, but do not require a 4 year degree. There are many students in 4 year colleges that would get more out of learning a trade. I disagree that we need to establish trade schools though. We should provide the type of training necessary for the ever more technical trades, as well as traditional trades, in the community colleges. It would be much more cost effective to expand community colleges rather than build new trade schools.
If the CSU became more selective in their acceptance requirements it would drive more students to technical trades. This would eliminate the need for more capacity in the CSU system and that money could be spent on expanding the community colleges.
Tragic that online “education” seems to be the trend once the crisis is over. There really is no substitute for in-person classroom, colloborative, or lab learning.
I think a lot of young adults are going to face tough decisions now and for the next decade. Going to vocational school is risky– look at what lockdowns have done to cosmetology, fitness and sports coaching, and massage therapy as disciplines. You’d be nuts trying to get professional training now in these industries. Trades are hazardous– occupational injury rates are extremely high in construction.
Some of my greatest learning experiences were in college. Above and beyond the actual subject matter, I learned and honed a lot of critical skills. Open discussion taught me to look at other points of view, to examine the bias in mine, to objectively evaluate my thought process and values. I learned to think on my feet, to examine everything, and come to my own conclusions.
This kind of experience should be in reach of every American. We all need critical thinking skills desperately these days. That it’s becoming increasingly unobtainable to any but the rich or those willing to enter virtual indentured servitude to a mountain of debt is tragic. Trade school doesn’t teach these skills.
Good. One less facility to further indoctrinate young minds against American values. In favor of more trade schools, good idea.
One of the most important skills a college student learns is critical thinking. Whether at a community college or a 4-year campus, I would like ALL high school graduates to continue in the classroom to learn that. Jobs usually only consume 8 of the 24 hours of a day. Critical thinking is important for more.
I received my undergrad degree from CSU at age 55 then completed classes for an MA by age 56. I just like to take classes and had never gotten around to actually getting the sheepskin despite many successful years in classrooms at several colleges.
The Concord CSU campus was/is underutlized, Funding needs to go to this campus so that the young students can get the classes they need to graduate in four years. I met many undergrads who found the need to move to more expensive schools rather than wait until they could get the classes they needed through CSU.
I am very grateful for the 16 years that I’ve been able to take Lifelong Learning classes through this campus. I would like the young to find the same satisfaction with their experience at the top of the hill
You are absolutely correct. Critical thinking is the most important thing I learned through my higher education. It has helped me more in my life, both personally and professionally, than any of the science/math courses Don’t get me wrong, math, science, and the business courses were extremely important and set the foundation for my career. However, it is the critical thinking related courses like Philosophy, History, and business management/theory classes.
How has it helped me professionally? First and foremost, it has helped me communicate effectively. I can formulate my arguments in a clear and concise manner and present alternative solutions. It has also helped me to approach problems in different ways instead of taking the traditional or straight forward route. Critical thinking has also allowed me not to take things at face value but to understand the complexities in an issue which allows for less misunderstandings.
^ FEWER misunderstandings
the world doesn’t need another institution pumping out worthless degrees. Focus on offering the STEM skills or trades…that’s where the student and society at large will get the best bang for the buck. I have little sympathy for students who cry about not being able to pay back student loans after insisting on pursuing expensive degrees with no demand that would earn them low pay.