Board of Trustees to Vote on Cal-GETC for Non-Transfer Students as Faculty and Students Continue their Opposition

At the upcoming March 27 Board of Trustees meeting, CSU management and trustees will consider Title V changes that would impose  General Education changes developed for transfer students on all CSU students.

That imposition would remove one Arts and Humanities class and the Lifelong Learning and Self-Development course General Education requirements. Doing so would discourage students from enrolling in important classes designed to help them succeed. For example, Lifelong Learning courses can play a major role in supporting students from historically marginalized communities. Sign up here to voice your opposition at the BOT meeting virtually.

CSU faculty are justifiably proud of their success in meeting the CSU’s mission to empower our students to succeed in their education and careers. Skills courses help recruit and retain students from diverse and rural communities, where many K-12 schools have experienced decades of disinvestment and under-resourcing due to systems of racism, colonialism, racial capitalism, and environmental injustice. It’s why many who identify as Native and Indigenous students or Black students struggle at CSU campuses without the support provided by skills courses, mentoring, tutoring, resource centers, and mental health counseling. 

Students and faculty have been firmly opposing the application of Cal-GETC to all students, noting its harmful impact on educational quality and students of color.

In resolutions passed last week, the Academic Senate of the CSU further clarified their position, noting strong opposition from students regarding changes to GE requirements.

Their resolution, “Appreciation to California State Student Association for Support of Student Success,” states that the Academic Senate “deeply appreciates the passionate opposition to changing CSU General Education (GE) Breadth which California State Student Association (CSSA) Governing Board members expressed at the 2024 February and March plenaries.” The resolution notes that, during the plenary, governing board members asserted how courses in Lifelong Learning and Self Development (Area E) have benefitted them.

The Academic Senate agrees with CSSA leaders’ belief that CSU trustees must fully examine data on the impacts of curricular change before mandating them.

The Academic Senate also passed a resolution asking the CSU trustees “to respect the clearly stated position of the faculty that CSU GE Breadth not be changed at the present time and not until the faculty have approved any curricular changes to CSU GE.” A third resolution opposes adopting Cal-GETC for CSU GE Breadth until the overall costs are determined and there is information about the impact on the finances of the CSU system and campus budgets. 

Making the Cal-GETC switch for all students could mean larger class sizes for upper division courses. This could result in increased workload for many faculty and loss of work for others – primarily the lowest-paid lecturer faculty.

These proposed changes to curriculum and courses come mere months after CSU trustees passed a 34-percent tuition increase by the 2028-29 school year. Unconscionably, CSU students would be paying more for less.

Extending Cal-GETC to all incoming students is a misguided attempt by CSU management to increase graduation rates. Such a move sacrifices genuine and well-documented student education on the altar of metrics. It ultimately results in the exploitation of students and faculty and compromises the CSU’s educational mission.