CSU Chancellor Charles B. Reed talks advising future employment
Lauren Willard , News Editor

Important issues for students were brought to light with a teleconference with the Chancellor of the CSU system.

Chancellor Charles B. Reed held a teleconference on Thursday, Sept. 22. Reed covered such issues as what the CSU is doing for the displaced Hurricane Katrina students, what the budget looks like for the 2005- 2006 school year, the newly revised student code of conduct, how the CSU impacts the California working environment, and new ways to speed up graduation for students.

 “We have admitted over 400 students from the Gulf Coast to our campuses in the CSU. All of our campuses have taken in students from the Louisiana area,” said Reed. Some campuses are offering free housing and the out of state fees have been waived for all of these students. “Our students have helped these people, welcomed them and became friends and mentors and helped them with clothing and housing. I want to thank all of them for what they are doing for these students.” The CSU will continue to enroll students in the quarter campuses, but have quit enrolling students in the semester campuses because they are already into their third week and students would be missing too much school.

There is an evacuation center prepared at San Diego State for Red Cross to take evacuees, also. “San Jose State is holding about 20 evacuees in one of our dormitories,” said Reed. The Golden Bear, one of the CSU Maritime ships, has volunteered to go to the Gulf Coast. “We can sleep about 500 people, can generate fresh water and about two mega-watts of power a day.” The CSU system is doing all they can to help victims of a tragedy that happened in a state so far away from California.

            The CSU budget for the 2005- 2006 school year was approved by the governor in July for a $2.4 million increase, the first increase the system has seen in the last three years. This is a compact agreement that is entered into with the governor to be fully funded which allowed an increase in enrollment by 10,000 students this year. There will also be a 3.5% salary increase to all faculty and staff of the CSU system which will be retroactive as of July 1, 2005. They will take effect as soon as they go through the State Controller’s office.

“The student code of conduct has not been updated for about 20 years, so we felt that we needed to get into the 21st century with an updated code that reflected practices in that area,” said Reed. Some of the new amendments to the code will cover computer misuse, clarifying the University Breach for the communities the schools are located in, about off campus behavior. Also, updating student responsibility and unexceptional behavior such as hazing, academic dishonesty, theft, and the ownership and misuse of firearms. This new code will be on display for 45 days before the November 8 board meeting of final action.

The CSU system produces more than half of California’s employees. Some of these industries are: the hotel/restaurant and entertainment industry, the agriculture industry, engineering/aerospace, biotechnology, and the information technology industry.  “The CSU system provides over 70% of its students to government services in California as teachers, nurses, public administrators, and people who work in welfare agencies,” Reed said. He is meeting with people who work in these fields to see what the CSU can do to better prepare its students for these jobs in the future. “These employers that I have talked to have said that they want students who can communicate well in writing, speaking and making presentations. They look for students who can work together in teams and solve problems. Students who understand how to use technology, are bilingual and have a global view of the world.” These are just some of the qualifications employers look for when hiring for their company.

The CSU has the largest majority of diverse students in California. The system is now a majority/minority university system with 54% of students being students of color. “We need to work with these communities to help prepare young people to be able to be eligible to go to our universities. We are working with the African-American community, the Latino community, the       Vietnamese community, and the Chinese community and will continue to do this throughout the future,” Reed said. The CSU also wants to figure out how they can reach parents of minority students so they understand what their children need to do to be eligible to go to college.

To speed up graduation for students, the CSU board is looking to have course requirements be as close to 120 credit hours as possible. They are looking at the transfer process and trying to make it as smooth as possible for those students. They want to see students coming from community colleges with 60 credits of transferable units and have the CSU offer 60 credit hours as well to equal 120 credit hours for graduation. “We have several initiatives that the presidents and the provosts and deans on each campus will be working on this fall to ensure this happens,” Reed said.

Academic advising will also be improved on in an effort to help students not take courses they don’t need, and offer courses when students need them as well as getting students to declare majors earlier. “We will try to get students to go to summer school and focus on courses that will lead to a degree and get better technology in place so students can check their degree process,” Reed said. There will also be a major emphasis on the attention to students, to ensure they get the right courses when they need them and getting students to graduate as soon as possible.

“I am pleased to announce that the governor has signed the education doctorate bill so that the CSU for the very first time in 45 years can offer an education doctorate to school district leaders, and community college leaders. This will be one of the most significant events in the last decade that has happened to the CSU.” The CSU will begin offering their doctorate programs beginning fall 2006.  This is a big step for the CSU system and they will continue to work on this program for opening classes next fall.