They hurt the system because they are so small they are too expensive to operate. It will be a long time before enrollments cross the curve and create demand for still another one. This observation was made before the discovery of water-supply limitations and talk of a desalinization plant. An apparent willingness to consider charging higher tuition at Cal State Monterey Bay may indicate some early appreciation on the part of CSU officials of the possibility of the higher costs associated with the program to be offered there. 60 Effects on other campuses in the CSU system in the form of altered priorities have been mentioned.
Systemic effects can run the other way as well.
The state university system has been described as a highly competitive environment, and the likelihood of permanent acquiescence among other campus presidents to persistent funding imbalances in favor of Cal State Monterey Bay is remote. It has been argued that the Cal State system imposes centripetal organizational forces that militate against innovation and deviance from system norms. This is particularly so for community college transfers. The other crucial dimension of the institutional role, the new university's assumption of residential status, prompts considerations of another sort. Certain aspects of the case are intriguing.