A potential tuition increase could take effect as early as this fall, pending approval from the California State University Board of Trustees on Wednesday.
The proposed tuition increase, which will be $270 per resident undergraduate student, will take the annual tuition price from $5,472 per undergraduate student to $5,742 and will generate up to $77.5 million of net revenue in 2017-2018 to support the trustees’ budget priorities. Similar increases are proposed to non-resident tuition, as well as graduate, doctoral and teacher credential programs.
During his briefing on behalf of Stanislaus State during the Turlock City Council meeting on March 14, Student Government Relations Coordinator Noriel Mostajo said that he and other student leaders met with local legislators in Sacramento to ask for a fully funded CSU in light of the potential tuition increase.
“[We] were advocating for our students,” said Mostajo.
The proposed increase is attributed to decreased funding to public higher education institutions. According to the CSU, while state tax revenues that support these institutions have fluctuated significantly over the last two decades, the trend has been towards a decrease in funding — a movement that was made evident not only in California, but throughout the nation. State support made up 80 percent of the CSU support budget in the mid-1990s and now makes up closer to 50 percent in 2016-2017, with the remaining revenue provided by tuition and fees.
As adopted by the Board, the budget priority areas would need an additional $324.9 million in investments. In his January budget proposal, Gov. Jerry Brown proposed allocating $157.2 million in new funding to the CSU, which leaves a $167.7 million funding gap in between anticipated state funding and the needs of the university system. The proposed tuition increase would generate $77.5 million in revenue system wide, after a one-third set-aside of $38 million that would increase the State University Grant pool to help cover the cost of the increase for students who receive the grant.
According to the CSU, more than 255,000 undergraduate students will not face any financial impacts from this proposed increase as several financial aid grant and waiver programs cover the full cost of tuition for more than 60 percent of all CSU undergraduate students.
To ensure that the CSU can meet its 2017-18 budget priorities, the Chancellor’s Office recommends that the trustees adopt the tuition increase.
The CSU Board of Trustees meeting is scheduled to begin on 10 a.m. Tuesday and 8 a.m. Wednesday in the California State University Office of the Chancellor — Glenn S. Dumke Auditorium, 401 Golden Shore in Long Beach. The agenda item regarding the proposed tuition increase is slated for Wednesday’s meeting. A live feed of the meeting will be available at calstate.edu/bot.
