TheBakersfieldCalifornian.com

Some of the record number of freshman who arrived on campus Monday at Cal State Bakersfield no doubt opted to attend college close to home to save money.

They'll need those extra dollars to cover a 30 percent tuition hike, or about $1,000 per year, at CSUB due to state budget woes.

Higher tuition was just one of the complaints students and faculty vented about on the first day of classes.

Students said it is harder to get into required courses.

Some said their financial aid changed for the worse.

And class sizes increased to an average of 40 this year compared to 31 last fall.

Sophomore Tabatha Haney, 19, said she "stalked" her chemistry teacher Monday to get into the Chemistry 101 class she needs for a chemistry major.

The frustrating morning had the Liberty High grad wondering, "Why didn't I just go to BC?"

Junior Erica Garcia, 20, came up short trying to get into a criminal justice class for her major.

"I'll have more free time, but less learning time," she said.

Although class sizes have increased, specifically in undergraduate courses, the availability of seats is the same as last year, said CSUB spokesperson Kathy Miller.

As part of the university's plan to close a $10.3 million budget hole this year, faculty and staff took 10 percent pay cuts in the form of multiple furlough days, equating to less material taught by professors.

Students received word Monday that their CSUB "Runner" e-mail accounts will be phased out, and library hours have been reduced this year.

These cuts are part of an effort to reduce an additional $2.5 million in "campus actions" the university has yet to finalize this year.

Junior Summer Lopez was frustrated the required math class she needed had been moved completely online.

"They told us 'stop by the tutoring center if you need help,'" she said.

Senior English major Vanessa Rojas asked students passing through the busy hallway of Dorothy Donahoe Hall to sign petitions to send to the governor's office to protest the fee increases and furloughs.

By noon she'd talked to 50 students, half of whom had complaints about difficulties getting into classes.

Despite the fee increases, many students aren't aware of the significant changes, said Rojas, a student organizer for the group Students for Quality Education.

"My job is to educate, agitate and inform," she said.

Modern Language Literatures Professor Joanne Schmidt said for a teaching institution it was extremely troubling that faculty were being asked to hold back.

This year she'll cut out skits and written and oral work she has assigned in her French courses for more than two decades.

"This is terrible for students," she said.

Department of Social Work Professor Bruce Hartsell said his class about social work practices had increased from an ideal 25 to 37 students.

He echoed a concern expressed by several faculty members.

"What will it be like when these students go to work in the real world without the practice they should have acquired in class?" Hartsell said.

"We're making compromises."