Dear Students,
I am writing to those of you who have signed up for my classes in Spring 2012 and those who remain on the waitlists for those classes because as you heave heard registration is closing on December 19th. You have also been told that registration may not reopen again in the spring semester. Hopefully you have also heard that the legislature is cutting an additional \\(100 million from the CSU budget, in addition to the \\)650 million it already cut at the beginning of the year. This amounts to a 27% cut in the state funding of the California State University system in one year, and brings us back to funding levels of over a decade ago.
I know you have been dealing with rapid tuition increases and the effect of reduced staffing in many departments. How is it that you are paying more and getting less? Unfortunately the tuition increases do not cover the severe reductions in state funding, so despite paying more you really are getting less. The faculty and staff at CSU Stanislaus have done their best to mitigate the reduction, but we are at levels that are not sustainable, and more and more you are seeing the effects of this severe budget reduction. The most recent effect is the sudden and unprecedented suspension of enrollment.
I am hopeful that I will be able to add students from the waitlists at the beginning of the Spring semester. Our current policy on class registration states that “the addition of students following the beginning of instruction shall be at the discretion of the instructor by the use of permission numbers, or their equivalent.” At this time I cannot add you to the class you are requesting as it is full, but I am saving a copy of the waitlist (as I have also heard the rumors that they will disappear) and hope to begin handing out permission numbers based on the current waitlist in the Spring. I am hopeful that I will be able to accommodate all those students who attend the first two classes in the spring, though I have never seen a situation like this. I will fight to try to add students if there is any space in my classes, though I am not sure that I will be successful.
In the mean time, I urge you, whether you are on the waitlist or in the class, to contact your state legislator by phone, email, or letter (find your legislator here) and let them know how this budget reduction is effecting you. I also urge you to contact Governor Jerry Brown and let him know as well. If you would like to maintain an affordable higher education system for California, now is the time to fight for it.
Sincerely,
Christopher De Vries