|
Facing serious fiscal
challenges due to the overwhelming state budget crisis, the California
State University Board of Trustees increased undergraduate student fees
by $276 for the 2008-09 academic year in today’s meeting.
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
increasing fees 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.”
The CSU Trustees voted 15 to 3 in favor of the fee increase. Trustees
John Garamendi, Melinda Guzman, and the student trustee, Jennifer Reimer
cast the dissenting votes.
State University Fees for undergraduate, graduate, and teacher
credential students increased by 10 percent.
Effective in fall 2008, fees will 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 with the increase, CSU fees will continue to be among the lowest in
the country. The undergraduate State University Fee will go up from the
current $2,772 to $3,048 per year. Including the current average campus
fee of $749, CSU undergraduate students will pay approximately $3,797
for one academic year, which is less than the lowest fee of public
institutions used to benchmark the CSU.
|
