Is the University Doing Enough to Maintain Education?
By Ethan Colmar
The mission of San Francisco State University is to “deliver academic excellence,” however for several years now, classes and professors have always been the first heads to roll. In the wake of further departments being cut down, or removed, and the firing of part-time lecturers the university still stands at a budget deficit in the millions despite the actions taken. This is all to say the university is failing its mission. Students have been left to fend for themselves and cobble together what classes they’re able to take in the aftermath of these consistent cuts to our education. And because of this, academic excellence has never been further away from this campus.
The long effort of commercializing the University has been an ongoing process and is exemplified in the current administration’s actions toward its financial woes. The main methods by which the school has combated the recent deficit have been through budget cuts and tuition increases, which have both seen mixed results. The cuts have made a large impact on the amount of courses provided, which according to CSU Assistant Vice Chancellor Ryan Storm “Results in increased class sizes, which can impact student success, especially in student populations that need additional support.”
Increased class sizes, which according to a 2024 study in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, “Revealed critical thresholds… at a class size of 27 students. Beyond these points, size increases are associated with unpredictability and decreased school readiness.” On top of that, enrollment that has been declining since pre-pandemic exacerbates the need to cut classes which burdens students even more with large class sizes and required courses being harder to enroll in. The tuition raises coinciding with these cuts have made the challenges students face all the more frustrating, as each student is now paying more than ever while being provided with less than before. Frustration brewing has led to many pleas and protests towards the administration for other solutions, which have all but fallen on deaf ears.
The current solutions being offered by the administration are not only insufficient but also actively reject the university’s mission for academic excellence. Removal and slashing departments have been the only plans presented, and yet there are other solutions that the administration ignores. Why haven’t smaller class sizes been tested which previous studies say “That the economic returns to class-size reduction in Tennessee were greater than the costs, with an internal positive rate of return of about 6 percent,” and that “Students in the smaller classes having received about 3 months more schooling than the students in the regular classes… The positive effects of class size were largest for black students, economically disadvantaged students, and boys,”(Krueger). Reducing class sizes can increase academic results, the level of attention students receive, and reduce the need to remove classes as professors are less overloaded. Smaller class sizes is just one of the ideas the university has yet to try that could provide relief. Why doesn’t the university increase contributions from the endowment, which according to the 2023 SF Foundation Annual Report has over $165 million that only 4% each year is taken from? Much needed dollars, that if even 7% were taken, $5.5 million more would be generated. Opportunities are there to help ease the struggle the school is going through, however, the administration only wishes to reap the benefits of a highly trimmed-down school. Whether it be malice or mismanagement the school would rather trim our education down to its base core classes than to attempt any other solutions that might provide refuge to staff and students, and this inattention has eroded the trust in the future of this institution.
Despite being faces of issues larger than one body, the current administration’s time as the leaders of this university has not seen an academic resurgence, but a steep decline in enrollment, classes offered, and professors able to support the campus. Continued cuts have become the new normal, and with there being more to come in the future, students should ask themselves to what degree the administration should be allowed to strip away the freedom to a quality education, while people’s jobs and degrees are threatened. The corporate mismanagement that’s spread through the school is most evident in the fact that university enrollment nationwide has increased since COVID, “Postsecondary enrollment is up 4.5 percent this year, bringing the combined number of undergraduate and graduate students above 2019 numbers for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report,”(Knox) yet SF State has seen continued decline in enrollment and classes being offered in that same time. The problems that have risen at this campus have not just come from recent events, but deep systemic issues that lay untouched. The university’s continued cuts that do nothing to stop the decline in enrollment only worsen the need for further cuts, which has created a self-fulfilling prophecy of financial collapse. Cutting corners in education doesn’t lead to better results, it has only led to apathy and a slow decline in the faith in one’s education.
With all the actions that have been dispensed, many are still anxiously awaiting further budget cuts that will continue to negatively impact every student and professor’s access to quality education. The administration would continue to treat this school as a company, minimizing loss and maximizing profit, and if they want to act like a company, then students should have bargaining rights. Professors can exercise their right to contracts and bargaining with the school, so why shouldn’t students get that same right? Currently, Associated Students(AS) only has an advisory voice for the yearly budget, why shouldn’t AS get a larger say over how the budget affects students? The administration says they’re listening and are trying their best to ease the pain caused by all these cuts, but they are out of touch with the experience of students, and their efforts and solutions reflect that reality. Education should not be the first to be removed at a school, and when the mission of the university is to provide academic excellence that idea ought to be preserved before it’s forgotten entirely.
Works Cited
Antoniou, Faye, et al. “The Effect of School Size and Class Size on School Preparedness.” Frontiers in Psychology, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 26 Feb. 2024, pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11002959/.
CalMatters. “Cal State’s 8% Budget Cut Means Fewer Courses, Majors and Faculty.” Boyle Heights Beat, 22 Feb. 2025, boyleheightsbeat.com/california-state-university-college-budget-cuts/#:~:text=Systemwide%2C%20campuses%20have%20cancelled%20nearly,additional%20support%2C”%20Storm%20said.
Emily Markovich Morris, Sweta Shah, and Ana María Raad Urwa Naeem. “Class Size: What Research Says and What It Means for State Policy.” Brookings, 27 June 2023, www.brookings.edu/articles/class-size-what-research-says-and-what-it-means-for-state-policy/#_ftnref13.
Knox, Liam. “Enrollment Passes Pre-Pandemic Levels with First-Year Surge.” Inside Higher Ed | Higher Education News, Events and Jobs, www.insidehighered.com/news/admissions/traditional-age/2025/01/23/enrollment-passes-pre-pandemic-levels-first-year-surge. Accessed 4 Mar. 2025.
San Francisco State University Foundation Annual Report, foundation.sfsu.edu/sites/default/files/documents/Annual_Report_2020_web_accessible_4_28_20.pdf. Accessed 5 Mar. 2025.
Wong, Neal. “Behind the Impacts of the Spring 2025 Schedule and Budget Cuts.” Golden Gate Xpress, goldengatexpress.org/108988/campus/behind-the-impacts-of-the-spring-2025-schedule-and-budget-cuts/. Accessed 4 Mar. 2025.