By Jorge Campos |Staff Writer| Cal State Universities (CSU) are saving money by offering online courses, yet some students say online courses don’t go as in depth as a regular classroom. The result is, universities have figured out a way to save money, but according to students, at the cost of quality education. The CSU system has saved approximately $4 million through the bulk purchase of online advising, class materials, and $1.6 million for plagiarism detection programs, according to the Los Angeles Times. “Although it is still an early stage to start measuring cost, it is important to begin evaluating ways to drive down cost without affecting academic quality,” officials said … [Read more...] about CSUs offer more online classes to save money
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CA universities postpones maintenance
By Santiago Castillo |Staff Writer| The CSU system has $1.8 billion in critical maintenance backlog due to budget cuts. “CSU hasn’t received funding for deferred maintenance since 2007-08,” according to The San Bernardino Sun. Due to the maintenance backlog, the CSU system faces a crisis because it has disrupted education and remains a threat in the safety and effectiveness of buildings used for educational purposes. Nearly half of the CSU system buildings are more than 40 years old and infrastructure such as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning are deteriorating. Statewide laboratories have been shutdown and other locations have faced power outages. Such occurrences have … [Read more...] about CA universities postpones maintenance
Obama advocates for pushing the penny out of circulation
By Angela Rodriguez |Staff Writer| During a recent online chat sponsored by Google, President Obama announced his support in retiring the penny and suggested the one cent coin is a “good metaphor” for some of the larger problems facing lawmakers as they seek to reduce the deficit. “I will tell you right now, this will not be a huge savings for government, but anytime we’re spending more money on something that people don’t actually use that’s an example of something we should change,” said Obama in the Google+ Hangout chat. The penny has long been criticized for being costlier to mint than it’s worth. According to the U.S. Mint 2011 annual report, the copper one cent coin costs … [Read more...] about Obama advocates for pushing the penny out of circulation