California’s Budget Cuts and Declining Births Pose Funding Challenge for Higher Education

With the state’s fertility rate at a new low, colleges ‘are entering an era of fiscal uncertainty,’ a report says.

People walk through Sproul Plaza on the UC Berkeley campus in Berkeley, Calif., on March 14, 2022. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Facing a statewide budget deficit and a projected decline in young people, California’s higher education systems may see funding decline in the future, according to a May report by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the state’s University of California (UC), California State University (CSU) and community college systems saw growth in per-student funding due to an “unusual convergence of events”—namely, enrollment fell as federal pandemic aid flowed in.