Chico State implemented a hiring freeze on February 17, 2023. It's now been in place for a month, but the university says it hasn't had too much of an impact just yet.
CHICO, Calif. - Chico State implemented a hiring freeze on February 17, 2023. It has now been in place for a month, but the university says it hasn't had too much of an impact just yet.
This freeze impacts new jobs for the university across the board, including faculty and staff.
“When people retire at the end of this academic year or move on to different opportunities, perhaps we don’t replace them, perhaps we move people from one department to another, balance it out if you will," said Chico State Public Relations Manager Andrew Staples.
Staples says there are exceptions. He says Chico State will fill some positions if necessary. That includes the search for a new president, but the university believes the freeze won't affect students.
“We’ll be able to offer the same opportunities to students without increasing our overall salary structure," said Staples.
Staples says it shouldn't affect the students since enrollment is down. Fall 2023 enrollment is down 22% compared to 2017. He says the professor to student ratio should stay the same.
However, one professor in the College of Engineering says they have a lack of professors, which happened before the freeze. The professor says if they don’t get another one, they may have to pick up extra classes which they believe will lead to less time with students and office hours. Some are concerned that might become a trend with this hiring freeze.
"I think it will affect the overall quality of teaching, overworked professors mean there’s less office time, less one-on-one areas where we can work together and overall schoolwork will be affected by it," said Chico State Senior Hudson Griges.
Some professors think this could also affect their chance to get a raise or to get tenured.
“Every year I’m just signing a contract semester to semester, so there’s no security," said Physics Lecturer Yuhfen Lin.
The university says there is no expected date when the freeze will end, but says it'll continue to cut costs and manage the budget in the meantime. Chico State says there are also no widespread layoffs planned.
