University of California'.s top administrator is bracing for two bad budget years ahead, but with some assurance that the system has survived tough times before. In the early '90s, UC endured what economists have defined as the five most difficult years of its existence.
"Hopefully, the economy will turn around in the latter part of 2002. That's what most people believe," UC President Richard C. Atkinson told UC campus editors at a meeting in Oakland Nov. 9. "If that is the case, two bad years can be dealt with. If it goes on for four or five years, then it's a great problem for us because we're in a peculiar moment in time, given the huge increases in undergraduate and graduate students that will be flowing toward the university."

Atkinson, who spoke candidly about how an ever-shrinking budget might undermine the quality of the institution in both teaching and research, said senior leaders and the regents are discussing, among other strategies, the possibility of capping enrollments.

Historically, UC has always found a place for those within the top 12.5% of their high school graduating class statewide, he said. "If we were to walk away from that, it would be a pretty harsh event for young people in this state," the president said. "So what am I saying? Should we continue to admit students and let the quality of education deteriorate? That would be a poor policy to pursue."

To find a way to survive without diluting quality, UC is considering many scenarios, including admitting eligible students under the condition that they spend their first year or two at a community college, he said. "I don't know how that would go over -it's an idea we're thinking about."

Other options include raising fees, given that UC has gone seven years with no fee increase. Poor students wouldn't be "locked out," Atkinson said, because half of the fee increase would be available to them in financial aid. But there is a political sticking point in that Gov. Gray Davis has said there will be no fee increases during his term of office, Atkinson explained.

Other cost-cutting strategies, including eliminating the planned expansion of summer session programs at five campuses (reduced summer fees at UCLA, UC Berkeley and UC Santa Barbara have already been funded for this year), are on the table.

In terms of salaries, President Atkinson said faculty salaries have already fallen behind those at UC's comparison-eight institutions. But as for staff salaries, studies show that UC is not very far behind, he noted. While the 2% increase in the merit pool for this year is not much, he added, "it is judged to be comparable to what the state is doing." If state workers are asked to take home less in their paychecks to help balance the budget because the funds aren't there, Atkinson said, UC employees will likely feel the same pinch.

"In the early '90s, we did everything we could to protect the faculty," Atkinson said. "And we cut back harshly on the staff and cut back on staff support, administrative computing and the like. That's been a real drag on the institution. We've been trying to recoup that over these last six years, but we recognize we haven't."

The president said staff and faculty can take pride in the many achievements that have placed UC campuses among the top universities in the country, public and private. Six UC campuses, for example, belong to the prestigious Association of American Universities. "There is no other system in the country that has more than one (in the AAU). To have six campuses is unbelievable.

"We've gone through these difficulties before and have continued to maintain our leadership and our excellence, but it's going to be a difficult time," he acknowledged.