In the SJSU 2022/23 Annual Budget Report, a 7.1% increase was decided for the school, creating varied responses from faculty and staff.
The document is a detailed presentation of San Jose State’s budget plans and is a resource for those on campus and surrounding communities.
The budget outlined a multi-year compact pathway to grow CSU base funding each year from 2022-2023 through 2026-2027, according to the budget report.
The plan is to increase the General Fund appropriation by at least 5% each year in return for the CSU to meet student-centric goals including expanding enrollment, student success and equity, affordability and supporting workforce preparedness.
The California State University (CSU) is a collection of 23 universities that educate nearly 460,000 students each year, according to its website. Jolene Koester, who has faced backlash for her response video to faculty regarding an increase in salary, is the current CSU Chancellor.
General Fund appropriations provide funding to agencies that do not generate revenues, receive federal funds or generate sufficient other funds to support their approved programs, according to oregon.gov.
State appropriations and student fees are the main sources of support for SJSU's operations, according to SJSU’s website.
The state appropriation and most system-wide mandatory student fees are tracked in the CSU Operating Fund, which is the main fund used by most departments.
The Annual Budget Report reported the comparison between the 2021 to 2022 budget of $405,173,307 and the current budget, $432,349,986. The difference between the two budgets was $27,176,679, making it a 7.1% increase.
Michelle Smith McDonald, senior director of media relations at SJSU, said all budget decisions are made by the president, cabinet and Budget Advisory Committee (BAC), which is made up of members from the Academic Senate.
“The Governor's Office has a 5% budget increase compact with the CSU, in essence a promise to increase the system-wide budget by 5%,” McDonald said. “That compact was honored heading into the [2023-2024] year and all 23 campuses divide up the 5% increase.”
In the report, it states the operating budget has two main funding sources.
One is the student tuition and fees collected by the campus, and the second is the General Fund support from the state of California. This support is distributed by California State University Chancellor’s Office to the campus.
Simon Rodan, professor in the school of management, said he was personally concerned about the university subsidizing the athletics program in the amount of $16.6 million last year.
“In other words, the subsidy being paid to the athletics program represents 45% of our current deficit,” Rodan said. “I should also note that $9 million is paid annually to athletics from the SSETF.”
Student Success, Excellence and Technology Fee is a mandatory student fee that subsumed and replaced all existing Category III miscellaneous course fees, except those associated with field trips and the Instructionally Related Activities fee as of Fall 2012, according to the SJSU Office of Provost.
Rodan also said these were his personal views and did not represent the views of the Budget Advisory Committee, or the positions of the campus and statewide Senates.
“The way the BAC has been looking at the budget is that we are facing an annual deficit of $37 million, out of a total budget of around $423 million at a deficit of about 8.7%,” Rodan said. “So it's not about how to spend extra money but rather where to make cuts.”
SJSU President Cynthia Teniente-Matson said at her Fall Welcome Address on Aug. 17, during the start of Fiscal Year 22/23, SJSU had a significant fiscal gap of $37 million.
“In February, shortly after my arrival, I asked the budget advisory committee and the president's cabinet to expedite closing the gap,” Teniente-Matson said. “Through their collective work, that gap has been reduced from $37 million to $14.8 million for this fiscal year.”
Teniente-Matson also said everything done on campus, like the budget increase, is for the benefit of the students.
“Funding increases will allow us to enhance academic support, offer more courses and sections and provide livable salaries and benefits for faculty and staff,” she said.
