SFSU - CSU/UC 10% Fee Hike?

I'm a little shocked that the Trustees of the California State Universities and the University of California decided to raise university fees 10%. Depending on where you go, some will be paying as high as $350 or as low as about $150.

What's the big idea about this?

Here's my take on the issue: We raise university fees (not tuition, supposedly it's provided "free" to all CA residents) because we don't have enough in the state budget to properly fund programs. So they take some real crazy measures to really screw with us.

Here's some good examples of screwing the students: You raise fees to: give university presidents and chancellors a fat ass pay raise or perks (why does SFSU's President Corrigan get a $1,000 housing and car allowance?), nobody wants to attend it because quality is going down the drain (i.e. turn a 30 student class into a 70 student class with only one professor to get more moola), and Arnold aint dishing out the dough to keep us happy.

Here's the big problem, we have public universities, and that means that tuition/fees should be much less or NONE to the students. With a raise in fees, that means that the poor and disadvantaged will never get a fair chance to get a B.A. or B.S. degree. We can still afford to attend community college for $20 a unit, but an A.A. or A.S. degree doesn't pull a lot these days when getting a job.

I guess George Carlin is right, everyone except the rich will be working for the corporate world doing labor for low wages.

Quality or Quantity of our College Education?

A good question for you, what is better for everyone? A quality college education or quantity for big bucks?

That's an argument that was put forward by one of my professors on Tuesday. He argued that his class a few semesters back was supposed to be a small one with less than 35 students. Currently, his class holds 70+ students! What's the big idea?

The CSU system is focused more on providing smaller, more intimate classes (like my graduate classes), not mega sized classes so that the state can rake in on your tuition/fees that keeps rising so high.

Think about this: Why is SFSU's Human Sexuality course has so many students (a TON OF STUDENTS)? You could think that it's because of the GE requirements, or because the students gets to watch some "amusing" videos, or maybe because the idea of sexuality is so attractive (it sells!).

I like small classes because it provides a more intimate environment for everyone, and you really get to know your professors much more (just don't get caught sleeping in class). I also enjoy that I can visit their office hours with little or no wait, and really get the help that I need. Mega sized classes feel so odd to me because there is always a wait for help, they prefer doing things online, and multiple choice tests is no help either!

I guess it is all about the money these days. Is it cheaper and profitable to have two professors teach 35 students each for the same course in separate sections or have one professor teach 70 students in one class section?

Maybe the Simpson's are right. In the future, school will be taught in triple decker seat classrooms and only one teacher on the TV will be communicating to hundreds of schools at once.

Let's summarize my rants:
Please don't break down our classroom walls to make mega-sized lecture halls.
35, maximum!
Stop raising our student tuition/fees!
I want quality, not quantity. It's like graduating from Berkeley with 50,000 other students at the same time; sure makes that name sound so pristine.