UC Merced's Educational Mission Is Under Threat

UC Merced's commitment to academic excellence has been — and continues to be — at serious risk. Under the leadership of Chancellor Munoz and Vice Chancellor and Chief Financial Officer Schnier, per-student education funding has fallen to the lowest level in the UC system — currently less than half the UC-wide per capita average. The student credit hours funding model has compounded this problem by incentivizing larger classes and fewer instructors, while effectively penalizing the smaller, high-engagement classes that students need most.

Over the past three years, UC Merced has eliminated 25% of its Lecturer faculty, including 40% of its writing program faculty. An additional 13 UCM Lecturers have received layoff notices effective at the end of this academic year, with further cuts or reductions anticipated for AY 2026–27. These reductions directly harm students, weaken the university's capacity to deliver quality instruction, and threaten the long-term integrity of UC Merced's educational mission.

At the same time, UC Merced has dramatically expanded its administrative budget — which was already the highest in the UC system. Administrative staffing has grown by 33%, and admin salaries have nearly doubled, rising 92%. Administration now accounts for 14% of total spending, threatening to surpass spending on the university's primary mission: student instruction (18%). Administrative costs have become so excessive that UC Merced now spends four times the UC-wide average on admin, relative to instruction.

These cuts also strike at the heart of UC Merced's own Strategic Plan Goal 3, which calls for growing a faculty demographic more representative of the student body. Many of the Lecturer faculty facing layoffs are first-generation scholars and/or members of historically underrepresented communities — just like a majority of the UCM student body. Additionally, many lecturers are also of the San Joaquin Valley, as are 30–40% of UC Merced undergraduates.

Furthermore, UC Merced is a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving institution (AANAPISI). We also have a majority Pell Grant eligible and first-generation student population. The underfunded instructional budget risks underserving student populations who benefit the most from small class sizes and quality instruction.

We are calling on the UC system to act. Stand with UC Merced students and faculty. Demand that instruction be treated as the university's first priority — not its last. Specifically:

• Increase the instructional budget to a level commensurate with the UC-wide average and stop non-senate faculty layoffs.

• Reduce the administrative budget to a level commensurate with the UC-wide average.

• Repeal curricular cuts and adjustments, such as class size increases, that harm students.

Excellence in education is the founding purpose of the University of California. It is time for UC Merced's budget to reflect that commitment.

Resources:

UCOP: 2025 Revenues and Expenses for each UC

UCMFA: Fund Learning. Fund the Mission.