Cal State

California State University is embarking on an ambitious initiative to raise its graduation rates and help more low-income and minority students earn degrees, even as it faces perhaps the grimmest budget outlook in its history. The university is setting a goal of boosting its six-year graduation rate by 8% by 2016, bringing it to 54%, in line with the top national averages at similar institutions. University leaders say they hope to raise graduation rates for underrepresented minority students by 10%, cutting in half what has been a thorny achievement gap in degree completion compared with white students.

Once again addressing the controversial issue of executive pay, a panel of the California State University Board of Trustees voted Tuesday to freeze state-funded pay for new campus presidents but allow individual college foundations to raise funds to boost those salaries. The nonprofit campus foundations would be able to augment taxpayer-funded pay for new executives up to 10% above that of their predecessor. The policy would be reviewed in 2014. Four members of the Special Committee on Presidential Selection and Compensation meeting in Long Beach voted for the change, with one member absent.

Demand for enrollment at the California State University system is expected to rise by 57,000 undergraduate students over the next five years, driven by larger numbers of eligible high school graduates and community college transfers, according to a state report released Wednesday. But the report, by the California Postsecondary Education Commission, warns that those students will encounter an almost insurmountable hurdle caused by the state budget crisis, as Cal State moves to slash enrollment by 40,000 students in the next two years.

Even a large pay raise for a college president is unlikely to have a noticeable impact on daily campus life. It wouldn't require an increase in student fees or lead to a significant reduction in the number of courses being offered. But that doesn't mean presidential pay at California State University is unimportant; a commitment to shared sacrifice is necessary to help everyone power through tough times. Four months after adopting a controversial policy that allowed new campus presidents a 10% pay increase over what their predecessors had earned, Cal State's compensation committee will try again on Tuesday.

California's education leaders on Saturday lauded the release of $3.1 billion in federal economic stimulus funds for education, which includes more than half a billion dollars for hard-pressed colleges and universities. The state's universities are facing budget-related enrollment cutbacks, higher fees and class reductions in the fall, and officials said they hoped some of the most painful cuts could be avoided.

A former high-ranking California State University official collected more than $150,000 in improper expense reimbursements, including claims for unnecessary trips to Amsterdam and Shanghai, meals that exceeded allowable amounts and travel between his Northern California home and the university's Long Beach headquarters, a state audit has found. The audit, released Thursday, scolds the university for a lack of oversight in approving the expenses, saying they were "unnecessary and not in the best interest of the university or the state."

San Diego State is a U.S. university with one foot in Mexico. For years, students pursuing international degrees have attended the hillside campus because a study abroad experience is only a quick trip down Interstate 5. But studies south of the border are on hold after California State University administrators prohibited all university-sponsored activities in this sprawling city. Drug war violence, they say, poses a threat to visitors. Many students think the only thing threatened now is their education.

Freshmen entering the Cal State University system rank in the top one-third of their high school classes. But a measure of how low the bar has dropped is that last fall more than half the incoming freshmen were unprepared for college-level math and just under half weren't ready for college English courses.

Final approval is scheduled today for raises averaging 12% for the chancellor and campus presidents of California State University system. These are the third annual raises for the presidents as part of a three-year effort to narrow the salary gap between Cal State's leaders and those of comparable universities around the country. Campus presidents received 12% raises last year and 7% the year before.

California State University Chancellor Charles B. Reed rightly aims to raise the expectations for his students by insisting they be proficient in English and math by the summer after their first year on campus. Otherwise, it's back to community college to finish remedial work. Reed is right; the state college system should be reserved for college-level work. The CSU policy sets a realistic deadline, unlike a harsher policy proposed by New York Mayor Rudolph W.

The union representing California State University faculty announced Wednesday that its members have voted to authorize a two-day strike should negotiations over salary, class sizes and other issues continue to stall. The vote could result in two-day rolling strikes at the 23 campuses, most likely beginning in the fall, according to the California Faculty Assn. The union represents 23,000 Cal State professors, lecturers, librarians, counselors and coaches. About 53% of the total faculty are union members.

Students at six Cal State University campuses have vowed to fast until university leaders agree to freeze tuition, roll back administrative and executive salaries, and meet other demands. Members of Students for Quality Education said that the hunger strike will begin Wednesday and involve 13 students at the Dominguez Hills, Fullerton, Long Beach, Northridge, Sacramento and San Bernardino campuses. In addition to a five-year tuition freeze and administrative pay cuts, students are calling for more free speech rights on campus and the elimination of housing and car allowances for the system's 23 campus presidents.

California State University graduate students won a reprieve this week when officials decided to continue offering financial aid that helps about 20,000 postgrads pay for school. Students learned last week that Cal State was considering eliminating State University Grants for graduate students, while maintaining the funding for undergrads. The grant program currently waives tuition costs for about 120,000 low-income students, including about half of the university's 40,000 postgrads.

California State University faculty began voting Monday on whether to authorize their union to strike after 22 months of talks over salary, class sizes and other issues stalled. An affirmative vote could result in two-day rolling strikes at the 23 campuses, most likely beginning in the fall, according to California Faculty Assn. officials. The union represents 23,000 Cal State professors, lecturers, librarians, counselors and coaches at the public university system. The vote comes as Cal State has suffered severe cuts in state funding — $750 million this fiscal year with the potential for an additional $200-million reduction next year if voters fail to approve a tax initiative backed by the governor on the November ballot.

Luke Eubank works so fast and usually throws so few pitches that Newbury Park road games are ending in less than 90 minutes, leaving varsity players with nothing to do while waiting for their bus to arrive. Eubank, though, is perfectly content using his cellphone to listen to music or text his girlfriend. "Fortunately, he has unlimited texting," said a family friend. Newbury Park Coach Matt Goldfield is still trying to figure out what to make of Eubank's pitching dominance.

Cal State trustees vote to hire two new presidents at $324,550 and $303,660, respectively, 10% more than their predecessors. Meanwhile, students face tuition hikes, shrinking services and canceled classes. What will become of these Cal State students? Cartoonist Ted Rall takes an educated guess. ALSO: Cal State's closed-door plan Photo gallery: Ted Rall cartoons Santa Monica College: Lost opportunity costs Photo: Ted Rall cartoon.

A lengthy investigation of Cal State Fullerton has uncovered questionable expenditures and money transfers that administrators need to explain. The state Auditor's Office, which conducted the investigation, rightly noted that some of the problems it found might not amount to much individually, but taken as a whole are more serious. The report by the Auditor's Office characterized the problems as adding up to "serious mismanagement."

California State University Chancellor W. Anne Reynolds appears to be imagining a shortage where none exists. There is in fact an abundance of teachers and engineers. They are, however, not employed by the Cal State system. These qualified people are working in private business, where salaries more nearly reflect today's cost of living, and there is some appreciation shown for professional skills. If the chancellor is really interested in "meeting a need," I would suggest she implement a program that replaces indulgence with a discipline, and produces students who are capable not only of reading, but also thinking.

Dianne F. Harrison, a veteran educator in Florida and California, has been named the new president of Cal State Northridge. Harrison will succeed Jolene Koester, who retired in December after 11 years in the post. Northridge provost Harold Hellenbrand has been serving as interim president. Since 2006, Harrison has been president of Cal State Monterey Bay, a campus of about 5,000 students located on the former Ft. Ord Army Base in Seaside. At Northridge, she will take the reins of one of the nation's largest public universities, with 34,000 students and a budget of more than $300 million.

Cal State's crunch Re " CSU to freeze spring student rosters ," March 20 My daughter just graduated from Cal State Fullerton. My brother, two sisters-in-law, husband and I are all products of the Cal State system - Fullerton, Long Beach, Northridge, San Diego and Cal Poly Pomona, with a combination of five undergraduate degrees and three master's degrees. I'm sure that my family echoes that of many middle-class Californians. Education is paramount to the success of the state and the nation.