Your Right to Higher Education and Our State EconomyUnder Fire
•
The Arizona State Legislature has proposed
cuts
to the University System that would total nearly $243million,
or approximately one-quarter
of the entire budget, with a total reduction of $388 million inFiscal Year 2010.
•
Such a cut would be
absolutely devastating
to the University system which, if passed, would requireelimination of Colleges, thousands of lay-offs and radical
hikes in tuition that could easily exceed100%.
•
Business leaders have stated in the Arizona Board of Regents meeting that this would
severely harmthe local economy
and compromise their ability to successfully conduct business in this state.
What could this mean for you?
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If you’re an undergraduate:
decreased class offerings and more difficulty finding the classes youneed, fewer financial aid options, extreme increases in tuition, slower time-to-degree, larger class sizes,fewer books in the library, decreasing campus maintenance, fewer departments and major options, theloss of valuable faculty members, loss of extracurricular programs, fewer jobs on campus, less access totechnology, less advising, and loss of prestige of the university, making your degree worth less.
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If you’re a graduate student:
fewer teaching and research opportunities, significantly higher tuition,less financial aid and financial support from departments, much larger classes and heavier teachingloads, fewer class offerings, eliminated programs and departments, less advising, loss of faculty, anddecreasing prestige of the university, making your degree worth less.
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If you’re an alum:
decreased value of your degree as the school’s reputation suffers and lessopportunity for your family members to also attend a state school.
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If you’re a business owner:
fewer chances to work with the university on construction and innovation projects, fewer qualified employees to choose from, fewer clients and customers as students and facultyleave or are laid off, more foreclosures and a softer housing market and less tourism.
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If you’re an employee:
decreased benefits, declining services and maintenance of the university,layoffs, pay cuts, a ‘climate of fear’, increasing parking and other costs, less support fromadministration and fewer jobs available.
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If you’re a member of the community:
fewer opportunities for you and your children to get a collegedegree, decreasing quality of education in the state, fewer outreach programs and services, lessspending on construction projects, less access to research and innovation, fewer services in the library,fewer performances and exhibits, and massive job loss for the community.
Extreme cuts have not only been proposed for universities. Cuts to K-12 funding have also beenadded. Arizona is already 49
th
in the country for elementary and secondary public school funding.
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