California universities have been striving to expand in-state enrollment, but Gov. Gavin Newsom’s budget cuts could force universities including UC San Diego and San Diego State University to roll back services and staff, and shelve plans to admit more California students.
The governor’s budget plan includes a $272 million General Fund reduction for the University of California system in 2025‑26, or 5.6 percent of its state funding. And it calls for a $375 million cut to California State Universities next year, for about a 7.4 percent cut to its state support. It would also postpone a 5 percent annual funding boost that the state promised both systems.
What This Means for San Diego Campuses
Because of that, “UC will be required to do more with less,” Ian Klein, a senior analyst with the state Legislative Analyst’s Office, told me. That could mean a system-wide hiring freeze while the university is increasing enrollment, along with larger class sizes, fewer course offerings and reduced student support.
UC San Diego could lose much more beyond the state cuts, as the federal government slashes research dollars, our Jakob McWhinney reported last month. Its losses could range from $75 million to more than $500 million annually – a 2.5 to 12.5 percent cut to its total budget – UCSD Chancellor Pradeep Khosla warned.
San Diego State University is likewise bracing for lean times. In a message to faculty and staff March 20, President Adela de la Torre said the university would try to reduce management positions by 3 percent and announced a “hiring chill, effective immediately.” That affects staff and management positions starting now, and tenure-track faculty positions starting in 2026-27.
“This effort is designed to help us meet budget reduction targets while preserving and protecting our current workforce and priorities,” she wrote.
San Diego State has some one-time funding it will draw on next year, and it plans to cut travel and other expenses. Nonetheless, it’s facing a potential $44 million deficit over the next three years, she warned.
But Jackie Teepen, a spokesperson for the San Diego State chapter of the California Faculty Association, said the budget crunch is a matter of priorities, saying that spending on instruction has declined, but construction projects, executive salaries and consulting contracts are still costly.
“Don’t be fooled by the chancellor’s and CSU administrators’ claims of austerity,” Teepen said. “We have the money; they have simply chosen to spend it on themselves.”
Cal State San Marcos will see cuts of $12 million and lose another $7 million it expected from the 5 percent annual increase, university President Ellen Neufeldt told me.
“We’re talking about not having enough advisors, enough counselors, enough staff across the board,” she said.
The university is trying to protect core classes students need to graduate, she said, but they may have fewer options and time slots.
“We’re doing our very best to offer the courses that are needed,” Neufeldt said. “But in many cases instead of it being offered twice a year it’s offered once a year. We don’t have the dollars to expand the schedule.”
Cuts could come at the expense of California students. The cuts come as California campuses are trying to enroll more California resident students. Out-of-state and international students pay higher tuition, so the universities have welcomed them for both academic and financial reasons. But as admissions have become tighter, campuses have faced pressure to open more seats to in-state students.
They’ve already done that, and actually exceeded their targets, with each university system adding about 3,000 more California students than expected this year.
The state directed the UC system to boost in-state undergraduate enrollment by 2,927 students this year. The University of California reports that it has more than doubled that, with 6,209 more California students, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office.
CSU has similarly boosted enrollment of California students, adding 9,326 more in-state students this year: almost 3,000 more than their goal of 6,338 California students.
That’s likely to slow down next year, de la Torre wrote. This year San Diego State has funding to add 301 California students this year, but it doesn’t plan to enroll any more in-state students next year, because of budget cuts.
The state wants the Cal State system to enroll 10,000 more California students in each of the next two years, but the legislative analyst office recommends that they freeze that for now.
Cal State San Marcos already serves predominantly local students from North County and Riverside County, and eight out of 10 graduates stay in the region, Neufeldt said. The cuts could squeeze programs in nursing, teaching, engineering and mental health that are key to the San Diego workforce.
“This is about our students in the region having access and the ability to complete (degrees) here,” she said. “But it is also about the economic longevity of our region.”
Tuition hikes will soften the blow… sort of. In a good news/bad news equation, rising tuition rates in both the UC and Cal State systems will offset some of the cuts.
At UC campuses, undergraduate tuition will rise from $13,146 this year to $14,934 next year. That will add back $241 million, slashing the net cuts to about $30 million.
In the Cal State system, tuition is set to increase 6 percent annually through 2028-29, climbing from $6,084 this year to $ 6,450 in 2025-26. Those increases, plus some extra state spending for pension and retiree health benefits, will result in a net increase of $66 million for the next fiscal year. But, that’s spread out over more students, so per student spending will still drop by about 1 percent.
For more on higher education funding, read these CalMatters stories on the Cal State and UC budget cuts.
California Students Eligible for CalKids College Funds: Thousands of San Diego students are eligible for up to $1,500 in CalKIDS Scholarships, through a state college savings program. It has over $148 million in scholarship funds that students can use for college tuition, books, supplies, and computer equipment.
Sanctuary State Reform Bill Fails in Committee: State Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones protested that Democratic colleagues who voted down his bill to tighten California immigration “chose to side with violent offenders over the safety of Californians.” Jones’ bill would have required local law enforcement to cooperate with ICE for illegal immigrants convicted of serious and violent felonies. Without that coordination, immigration officials will conduct broad sweeps, with “collateral arrests” of law-abiding immigrants, Jones argued.
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