California State Universities

With a total of 23 campuses all over California, the California State University is the largest and most diverse university system all over the United States. Forty three thousand employees comprise its faculty and staff and 412 thousand students are distributed in all its 23 campuses. The university system claims to provide accessible and affordable education that is focused on providing high quality learning to its students.

The CSU faculty groups are composed of highly educated mentors who mostly work in full time capacity under the university’s administrative system. To ensure continuity of service during the Cold War, the California State University obliged its faculty to sign an agreement with a pledge of loyalty that they will serve the university for a certain given period as required by the administration. Such policy was not widely accepted by the faculty groups so that in some campuses like the CSU Fullerton, the faculty refused to sign the tenure agreement.

The salary for the faculty ranges from 74 thousand dollars (as of 2007) which was lobbied for 20.7 percent increase by the faculty union in an agreement with the CSU administration. This agreement on salary increase however was withdrawn due to the decrease in annual state funding for the school system from 2008 up to 2011. Salaries of campus presidents have been raised however to more than 300 thousand dollars.

To provide education to students who are not in a position to attend in-campus formal classes, the CSU has established off campus branches. The educational programs provided in these off campus branches are degree courses of the same level as that earned by regular students of the California State University. One former off campus branch of CSU, the California State University in Channel Islands has been transformed into a regular campus. Two more off campus branches in the counties of Riverside and Contra Costa also became independent campuses of the CSU.

The administrative system of the California State University is directly mandated by the state law of California. Its Board of Trustees is composed of 25 representatives whose positions are named by the Chancellor of the university system. The California State University Chancellor acts as the chief executive officer of the university organization and is the overall head of all the presidents coming from every campus. Campus presidents on the other hand are heads and chief executive officers in their respective domains.

Aside from the Board of Trustees, there is the Academic Senate of the California State University which is composed of representatives of faculty groups from every campus. These representatives are elected by the members of their respective faculty associations. Their main responsibility is to formulate and endorse policies and guidelines for the academic supervision of the university. Such policy recommendations are forwarded to the Board of Trustees via the University Chancellor.

The appointment and tenure of the 25 members of the California State University are enumerated and described below:

• Sixteen members are named by the State Governor of California through the endorsement of the Senate.

• Two student representatives from the university are designated by the State Governor.

• One representative of the Faculty Group is appointed by the Governor, which appointment is based on the list of names recommended by the Academic Senate.

• One overall representative of the alumni associations is picked by the California State University alumni council for a two-year tenure.

• Five ex officio members are appointed as Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Speaker of the Assembly, State Superintendent of Public Instruction and CSU Superintendent of Public Instruction.

The CSU Chancellor is a legislated position and is filled in upon the resolution endorsed by the Board of Trustees. The official resolution naming the Chancellor of the California State University system is entitled: “Statement of General Principles in the Delegation of Authority and Responsibility”, based on the first legislation enacted on August 4, 1961.

Before it became a state university, the California State University first operated as a normal school under the name of California State Normal School. Founded on May 2, 1862 through a law passed by the California Legislature, the California State Normal School originated from what was known as Minns Evening Normal School which was established in 1857 in the city of San Francisco, California.

Providing education to teachers, Minns Evening Normal School operated in accordance with the high school system of San Francisco City. Eventually, another normal school under the Minns Evening Normal School system was established in Los Angeles in 1882, named as California State Normal School Campus.

Through a state legislation passed in 1887, the name California State Normal School took out the name “California”, thus assigning the name “State Normal Schools”. Campuses in Chico (1887) and San Diego (1897) and other prominent cities in California rose as part of the State Normal Schools system. Later in 1921, the school was again assigned a new name and became known as the State Teachers Colleges with assigned identities according to the campuses they are found such as San Diego State Teachers Colleges, San Francisco State Teachers Colleges and San Jose State Teachers Colleges.

Being a state college, the State Normal Schools obtained its funds from the federal government. The state school system was again renamed as California State Colleges in 1935 through the Donahue Higher Education Act of 1960. By this time the school was placed under the administration of the California State Department of Education with base in Sacramento. Under the Department of Education, the State Normal Schools gained more autonomy in its operation. After the war period, the school system had additional campuses in Sacramento and Los Angeles followed by 13 more branches from 1947 to 1960 in different locations all over California.

It was in 1972 when the California State Colleges became known as the California State University and Colleges. Not long after, the word “Colleges” was dropped to bring forth the name California State University.

Having to choose from a great many California State universities is almost as vital and as important as what course or profession to pursue. Simply put, this can be a big decision that may have a significant effect on one’s future. However, confusing the simplicity of the application process as effortless would be a foolish thing to do; in fact, this can perhaps be one of the most stressful events one can ever come across in his or her life if one is ill-prepared for it. The good news is that there are indeed a few things, which can be done in order to make this somewhat easier. Here are a few tips on how to do so.

Knowledge is almost always a powerful tool to have at one’s arsenal and what better way to be prepared for it than to do some research on the particular university which one wishes to attend. This has been made even easier because of the aforementioned universities like the University California State have establish their own website (http://www.calstate.edu/) where potential students can find information regarding this matter in entirety. This is especially important because it will give one a good idea of what is required of applicants during the process and should save one a great amount of time as some schools also provide printable forms for application.

Another tip would be to expand one’s options as far as the universities. There are many factors and elements that one would be well-advised to take into account like the fees for tuition, the proximity, and etcetera. More importantly, they should also have the majors which one wishes to take. This should help a lot of a particular university doesn’t quite work out because one will have other alternatives to choose from and become a part of.