California senator wants to automatically admit qualified students to CSU system
WEST SACRAMENTO — The stress of submitting college applications may soon be a thing of the past in California. Some students could automatically be getting a congratulatory college acceptance letter.
State Senator Christopher Cabaldon is introducing Senate Bill 640, which would give California high school graduates guaranteed acceptance into the California State University (CSU) system.
"If you have a 2.0 GPA and you take the right classes, then you can just go," Cabaldon said.
The proposal could also help CSU campuses that have been struggling financially due to having fewer students.
"There are seven or eight or nine campuses that are experiencing enrollment declines," Cabaldon said.
The idea is based in part on the City of West Sacramento's college promise program, which Gabaldon helped create when he was the city's mayor and guarantees all local high school students acceptance into community college.
"The vision really was to make West Sacramento the best place to raise a kid in the country," said Jennifer Laflam, dean of Sacramento City College's West Sacramento center.
Educators say the program has been a big success in allowing more youth to get an advanced degree.
"It is a really smart idea because early on, we are investing in our state's future," Laflam said.
Cabaldon said the proposal will have a minimal impact on the state budget but a big impact on students whose higher education can get them higher-paying jobs.
"For many students, they don't even know that that's an option for them," Cabaldon said. "They're thinking, 'I could never go to the state university,' but you can."
If passed, CSU officials will determine how many of the system's 23 campuses have enrollment capacity, so students may not be able to automatically get into the most popular schools.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
California State University funding cuts threaten state's economic future
We both grew up in the Central Valley, currently raise our respective families in Fresno and serve as members of the California State University (CSU) Board of Trustees. We joined the board because we care about students who aspire to better their lives through education, and who care about our hometown and our state. It is no secret that Fresno State has long been — and continues to be — a beacon of hope for residents in the Valley, with 58% of students coming from Fresno County and 81% from the broader region, including Fresno, Madera, Kings and Tulare counties. This school year, 5,991 students graduated from California State University, Fresno. More than just a number, these graduates represent a wave of possibility: they are first-generation college students, children of farmworkers, future nurses, teachers and engineers. They are the hope and promise of the Central Valley made real. It is because of those 5,991 graduates — and the nearly 125,000 across all CSU campuses this year — that we know we cannot afford to cut funding to the CSU, as is currently being proposed in the governor's budget. To the contrary, we must invest in the CSU and institutions like CSU Fresno that provide life-changing opportunities for hundreds of thousands of students and community revitalization in regions that desperately need it, like the Central Valley. Investing in the CSU isn't just the right thing to do, it's one of the smartest economic decisions California can make: A 2021 economic impact study found that every $1 invested in the CSU generates nearly $7 in return to the state's economy. At a time when California faces big choices, protecting the CSU means betting on a stronger, more equitable economic future. The CSU is one of California's most powerful engines of social mobility and workforce development, opening doors to better jobs, higher earnings and more opportunities to achieve a better quality of life. It educates nearly half a million students annually, many of them the first in their families to attend college. California State University graduates go on to become leaders in key industries like healthcare, education, technology and public service. One in 10 workers in the state of California earned their degree from one of our 23 CSU campuses. Most recently, 15 of the 23 CSU campuses were named as Opportunity Colleges & Universities by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching (where Diego works). Additionally, CSU campuses accounted for nine of the top 10 spots on the College Futures Foundation Mobility Index and 16 of the top 50 spots on Third Way's Economic Mobility Index. Prior to the governor's May Revise, the CSU was facing a staggering 8% cut. The governor decreased that cut to a proposed 3% in the revision — an encouraging sign and acknowledgment that the CSU plays an essential role in driving California's economic vitality. But a 3% cut still amounts to a $143.8 million annual reduction, which is significant. This cut would also have long-term consequences. Cuts today don't just hurt students; they shrink the state's future talent pool, slow regional economic growth, and undermine long-term competitiveness. The cuts will lead to larger class sizes, fewer course offerings and reduced student support services, threatening student success and timely graduation rates, especially for our first-generation and low-income students. Faculty, staff and management positions are also at risk of being eliminated. Behind these layoffs are professors, teaching assistants, mental health counselors and other important individuals who students have come to know and trust for support. If we care about students, economic mobility, workforce readiness and the vibrancy of each region of our state, we must protect the CSU. Diego Arambula is vice chair of the board of trustees at the California State University and currently serves as vice president for Educational Transformation at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Yammilette 'Yami' Rodriguez is a member of the board of trustees at the California State University and works at the Youth Leadership Institute.
CBS News
3 days ago
- CBS News
University of California researchers face uncertain future over possible federal funding cuts
Thousands of University of California and California State University system workers are unsure about their jobs and the future of their research after reports that President Donald Trump is going after the federal funding for California. In response, Gov. Gavin Newsom has threatened to stop paying the state's federal taxes. Tanzil Chowdhury is a graduate student researcher at UC Berkeley with the Materials Science and Engineering Department. He works on semiconductors and is researching how to create more efficient batteries and better solar panels. His academic future, however, is in limbo. "I really want to make a difference with the work that I do, I want to help transition off of fossil fuels and create greener and more efficient energy grid for everyone. With these cuts, I don't know if I'll be able to continue doing that," Chowdhury told CBS News Bay Area. That's because Mr. Trump is considering pulling funding for both the UC and Cal State University systems. "This would just be catastrophic to my work, the work of all my coworkers and the amazing research that happens here in the state of California at the UC and CSU," he said. "We can't access the materials that we need, we can't get the lab space that we need, we can't run our experiments if there's no money coming in." A recent report shows the UC system received more than $4 billion for academic research during the 2024 fiscal year. Schools, including UC San Francisco, rely on those grants. "This is one of the biggest recipients of National Institute of Health's funds, which are some of the funds that the Trump administration is reportedly going to cut," Chowdhury said. He helps lead UAW Local 4811, a union of 48,000 academic workers in the UC system. Chowdhury said about 15,000 of those academic workers are from UC San Francisco and UC Berkeley. "It is one of the nation's leaders in biomedical and biological research. So, groundbreaking treatments in cancer, heart disease, diabetes, all that stuff happens right here," he said. "The patient who needs that sort of groundbreaking research to get better, get healthier, that work stops." One infectious disease doctor and UC San Francisco professor agrees. "We receive 30% of all NIH funding in this country. And that's not because just that we are a more populous state, but because we have fantastic universities here, really high-level academics," Dr. Monica Gandhi told CBS News Bay Area. She added that funding cuts will have a dire impact on the patient level. "It would mean the complete slowing of any progress in biomedical research that is actually fueling American lives, health," she added. "People who are living in California, their health will absolutely be affected. We won't get novel medications, we won't get therapeutics for cancer, for diabetes, for HIV, for infectious diseases." Dr. Gandhi said that a recent analysis showed that three out of 365 medications that had been approved from 2010 to 2019 were from NIH-funded research. "It would be disastrous for California to not be able to continue the lifesaving, NIH-funded research that it does," she added. Meanwhile, Chowdhury hopes that Governor Gavin Newsom can help by rescinding academic budget cuts on the state level. "He should work with the California legislature to ensure that we have job security, and we're able to continue doing the research that we need to do, and fill in the gaps left behind by the federal government," Chowdhury said. While the future remains uncertain, the battle for academia continues. "The administration needs to not do this, because we don't want to mess with American lives and American health," Dr. Gandhi said. "Maybe we need to re-evaluate how much money we give to the federal government from California taxpayer dollars, because I know what my California taxpayer dollars to go to. I want them to go to life-saving medical research to extend human life," she added.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Survey: Germany's Merz gaining in popularity as leader
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has risen markedly in popularity in his first weeks in the job, according to a new poll published on Saturday. The survey, conducted by the INSA research institute for the Bild newspaper, found that 36% of the 1,202 respondents were so far satisfied with the performance of the 69-year-old conservative chancellor, who took office on May 6. This is 13 percentage points higher than his rating four weeks ago. Another 45% of respondents said they were dissatisfied with Merz, 4 percentage points less than in the last survey, while 19% did not know how to answer. Germany's coalition government under Merz is also viewed more positively than it was a month ago. Some 37% said they were satisfied with the partnership of his Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU) with the Social Democrats (SPD), up from 29% in the last survey. Again, 45% expressed dissatisfaction, and 18% did not know how to answer. On a weekly basis, however, there was hardly any movement in the ratings of the five parties represented in Germany's lower house of parliament, or Bundestag. The CDU/CSU bloc gained one percentage point from the previous week to reach 27% support, followed by the far-right Alternative for Germany with 23%, one percentage point down from the previous week. The SPD (16%) and the Left Party (10%) both lost one percentage point, coming in at 16% and 10% respectively, while the Greens gained one point to garner 11% support. Public opinion polls are fraught with uncertainty. Among other things, declining party loyalty and increasingly short-term election decisions make it hard for pollsters to accurately assess the data collected. Generally, surveys only reflect opinion at the time they are conducted and are not forecasts of possible election outcomes.
