Facing a $386 million budget cut in state support, the California State University Board of Trustees will consider an undergraduate student fee increase of $276 for the 2008-09 academic year at its regular meeting on Wednesday, May 14.

The student fee increase, which represents $110 million in revenue, had been postponed until May as the CSU worked collaboratively with faculty, staff and students in a series of efforts to highlight the impact of impending budget cuts to the CSU budget. All 23 CSU campuses have held budget forums and demonstrations, urging legislators and the governor to consider how important the state’s investment in public higher education is to California’s economy.

In addition, the CSU has launched an effort in conjunction with the California Community Colleges and the University of California to educate the public and policymakers about the contribution the three systems of public higher education make to the state’s economy and quality of life.

The CSU has already taken measures to deal with the proposed cuts, including closing admissions as of March 1 at all 23 campuses for first time freshmen. As a result, approximately10,000 students will not be admitted in the coming fall term.

“Although the state has not yet adopted next year’s budget, the CSU is proposing a fee increase now in order to provide students enrolled for the fall a reasonable amount of time to plan their finances,” said CSU Chancellor Charles B. Reed. “Students and their families need to know what the fees will be so that they can appropriately plan for next year’ s college costs.

“In addition, it is critical for the university to set fees in order to put together student financial aid packages, and to meet federal and state financial aid deadlines.”

According to the fee increase proposal, State University Fees for undergraduate, graduate, and teacher credential students would go up by 10 percent.

Effective in fall 2008, fees would increase by $276 for undergraduate students, $324 for teacher credential students and $342 for graduate students.

The university will set aside one-third of the revenue from the fee increase ($36 million) to augment financial aid to cover the fee increase for financially needy students, thus reducing the impact of the fee increase on low income students. Approximately 143,475 students will receive financial aid to offset the fee increase. This represents approximately 75 percent of all financially needy students.

Even after the increase, CSU fees will continue to be among the lowest in the country. The undergraduate State University Fee would go up from the current $2,772 to $3,048 per year. Including the current average campus fee of $749, CSU undergraduate students would pay approximately $3,797 for one academic year, which is less than the lowest fee of public institutions used to benchmark the CSU.

Related links:

2007-2008 Comparison Institution Academic Year, Resident Undergraduate,
Student Fees <http://www.calstate.edu/pa/info/fees-comparison-institution.shtml>

History of CSU Fees
<http://www.calstate.edu/pa/info/fees-historical-perspective.shtml>

2008-09 Purposed Fee Increase
<http://www.calstate.edu/pa/info/fees-proposed-increase.shtml>