By snoadmin
Stop pinching yourselves students of Cal State Long Beach. The nightmare of enrolling in classes is a little bit brighter.
Sort of.
Our school has increased the unit cap a whopping two units.
That’s right. Students no longer need to feel barred by the measly 16-unit cap CSULB imposed upon us last March.
Now we can get in a full 18 units for the semester. This news must please our golf team.
The increase comes on the heels of students being allowed to pick up three extra units this month. The reason behind the original unit cap was because money is tight this year.
The unit cap forced students to take the most necessary classes to help them graduate on time.
The cap forced us to watch the classes we wanted to take, but were not requirements, sadly fill up.
It also forced us to join waitlists for classes that we never could crash.
By slightly increasing the unit cap, art and engineering majors who have heavy-unit schedules have more of an opportunity to graduate on time.
For students who normally roll with full schedules of up to 21 units, 18 units just is not enough.
But as helpful as the decision may seem, it’s troubling as well.Most classes are three units. For students with the full 16-unit schedule already, it is a slap in the face being only one unit away from adding another class. An increase to 19 units would have been a more welcomed.
The problem is, until the Cal State University’s fate is determined in the upcoming election, the fear of a $250 million trigger cut will force higher education to make drastic calls.
Whether it is unit caps, furlough days or cutting classes, this is something students in California will suffer through.
A unit cap for the spring semester is still up in the air, but the economic forecast will be more clear in November when Gov. Jerry Brown’s tax initiative is voted on.
If a unit cap is necessary in the spring, while not favorable, it is much more appealing than returning to furlough days.
The CSU seems to be trying to tighten its belt in almost every area possible, but come November, we students can face more unpopular ways to accomodate the budget.
If this is the case, then students will need to do more than simply pinch themselves to wake from this nightmare.
