Students:
As I am sure you are aware, the state of California is facing an unprecedented budget crisis that has resulted in a 31 billion dollar deficit. The impact of this on the California State University system includes a reduction of approximately 580 million dollars; for CSULA, the reduction is nearly 20% of the campus’ annual budget. Given a reduction of this magnitude, the California State University system cannot continue business as usual. In addition to the recent increases in tuition and fees, the CSU campuses are also instituting employee furloughs. A furlough is a mandatory unpaid day off. Almost every employee on the staff, management, and faculty of Cal State L.A. will be observing furloughs (approximately two days per month). On six days in the academic year, the campus will observe State Budget Closure Days (on these days, all administrative offices will be closed and all classes previously scheduled on these days will be cancelled). The first State Budget Closure Day is on October 16, 2009.
PLEASE SEE THE STATE BUDGET CLOSURE AND ADMINISTRATIVE CLOSURE CALENDAR FOR THESE DATES.
Most staff members, as well as most administrators (management employees) will be furloughed according to the campus administrative closure calendar. [link to the calendar here] This calendar designates both Administrative Closure Days and State Budget Closure Days.
- On approximately two days/month throughout the year, the campus will observe Administrative Closure Days. On Administrative Closure Days, most administrative offices will be closed, and services greatly reduced in all areas. However, classes scheduled to meet on these days will be held (unless you are otherwise notified by the course instructor). Please note that the Office of Public Safety is fully staffed and open on all administrative closure days. The Library, Food Services, University Student Union, SI and Student Housing offices are also open.
We regret any inconvenience these closures may cause. Please plan ahead and visit campus administrative offices on days other than these closure days.
Faculty members have significant discretion in choosing the days on which they will observe furloughs. Some faculty members will choose to observe furlough days on days on which their courses are scheduled to meet. They have been asked to notify their students, in advance, of any impact that their furlough days will have on instruction. As a student, you should be sure to get a course syllabus in each of your classes, and follow it. If a faculty member announces an upcoming cancellation due to a furlough, be sure to stay in touch with him or her for information about how this impacts their expectations of you (e.g., you may want to ask questions such as “will assignments still be due on that date?,” “will the material scheduled for that date be covered in another class session?,” and so forth). While the faculty member will choose which days to observe furloughs, he or she has the obligation to ensure that you are informed and (where possible) they should continue to meet the learning outcomes of the course. As a student, you have the obligation to attend class sessions and to stay informed about the impact of faculty furloughs on your courses.
Please note that whether or not they fall on administrative closure days, it is our expectation that all final exams will be held on the dates/times published in the Schedule of Classes.
If you have any questions or problems related to faculty observance of furlough days, please contact the Dean of the College offering the course or the Provost’s Office. Phone numbers for these offices are as follows: [Note: all numbers are campus extensions; full phone numbers are of the form (323) 343-3xxx.]
- College of Arts and Letters 3-4001
- College of Business and Economics 3-2800
- Charter College of Education 3-4300
- College of Engineering, Computer Science, and Technology 3-4500
- College of Health and Human Services 3-4600
- College of Natural and Social Sciences 3-2000
- Office of the Provost/VP Academic Affairs 3-3800