Opinions

Our View: Transparency bill gives public a voice in CA higher education

On Sept. 6, Gov. Jerry Brown signed SB 8, the transparency bill, into effect. The bill was designed to bring more accountability to public universities in California and will mandate all campuses in the CSU and UC systems and state community colleges to comply.

As of Jan. 1, 2012, all campuses will be ordered to make contracts and financial records public information. Education in California is constantly getting shafted in the government and after so many semesters of budget cuts and tuition hikes, the transparency is a small victory for the students.

Over the past few years, we’ve seen a ton of tuition hikes while seeing little to no benefits. The Student Recreation and Wellness Center is probably the most obvious and accepted result we’ve seen. Other than that, it’s hard to find evidence of positive change due to a semesters’ worth of money-grabbing by the CSU system, especially when classes are still getting cut at the start of each semester. The transparency bill is in no way the answer to all our money problems, but hopefully it can act as a step in the right direction toward the CSU’s being more responsible and smarter with our money.

The bill has been kicked around for a while and was even vetoed twice by former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The bill really gained momentum after Sarah Palin spoke at Cal State Stanislaus during its 50-year anniversary celebrations last year. The university was not required to disclose how much they paid Palin to speak or to discuss any part of their contract with her, which led Californians Aware, a non-profit organization focused on keeping Californians informed of goings-on within the state government, filed a lawsuit. Since then, students and proponents of higher education in California have been more vocal in their support of SB 8.

The transparency bill will enable the public to view documents pertaining to financial activity within the CSU, UC and community college systems. Donations from and contracts with foundations or affiliated groups will be made public information, which will force public universities to be held more accountable with what they do with our money.

This doesn’t mean that we’ll finally have a say in how the university spends our money, but maybe they’ll think about adding more class sections now before they buy new desks in the classrooms or new couches in the USU. Once the public has a chance to see exactly where the university gets some of its money, those in charge will probably want to spend our money in ways that will reflect favorably upon them.

Of course, that might not be the case. This summer, San Diego State gave its president a $400,000 salary to the chagrin of students statewide. Even Brown reprimanded the university. It’s entirely possible that SB 8 will have no effect on how university bigwigs spend our money, but the passing of the bill appears to be a sign that they’re willing to open a dialogue with the students. Instead of just spending our money with no thought to consequences, they’re willing to let us in on the process by giving us the opportunity to see what they’re doing and provide feedback.

The transparency bill isn’t a magic solution to the money problems plaguing colleges in California. In fact, it’s guaranteed that we will see many more tuition hikes and budget cuts in the semesters to come. However, the transparency bill may be the first step in creating a more collaborative process. Now, the university will spend the money it receives from donors and affiliates however it sees fit, but we’ll have a chance to comment and, most likely, gripe about it. It’s a small victory, but at this point, we should take whatever we can get.

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