The Sun Dollar

Verdugo Hills college counselor Diane De Boer speaks about what changes she has to make to her advice due to the budget cuts in the CSU system. 

With California's deficit reaching $41.8 billion next year it is no wonder that higher education has taken a huge hit. This is a worsening state of affairs for California State Universities (CSU) that has already suffered a $312.4  million budget cut. With university classrooms already at maximum capacity and less full time faculty being employed many students with the required qualifications will be rejected. 

For students who would not choose anything less than a four-year college education community colleges are all that is left for these students. This comes as a disappointment for first generation minority students who had the grades and dreams of being accepted into a four-year college. 

Not only does the Californian government give money to the universities but it also provides Cal Grant scholarships for students who demonstrate high educational capabilities and funds programs such as the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) that provides resources for thousands of minority students; who with out the help of EOP might not have attended a four-year university.

More than 10,000 students will be rejected and the impact of these cuts will fall hard on Latino, African-American, Native-American and first-generation students, according to the Alliance for the California State Universities. 

Verdugo Hills High School teacher Will Reinhard talks about his students' prospects to get into college with the recent budget cuts in the CSU.