SAN BERNARDINO - Cal State students will shell out about $500 more for school this fall after the university system's Board of Trustees approved a 30 percent increase in fees Wednesday for both undergraduate and graduate students.

While many trustees called the increase unavoidable given the state budget cuts, students and professors attending the meeting rallied against the hikes, chanting "layoffs, fees, we've got to fight back.'

"It's hard enough as it is,' Cal State San Bernardino graduate student Terri Mitchell, 47, said. "My kids will probably go on mac and cheese instead of hamburgers.'

The increase, approved on an 11-2 vote, followed a January hike of 10 percent for undergraduates and 15 percent for graduate students.

Starting this fall, undergraduate students will pay a base fee of $2,046 each year. Graduate students will pay $2,256 each year. Students also pay a campus-based fee, which is $403 at Cal State San Bernardino. This is $95 lower than the average at a Cal State university.

"We have to take out more loans, work more jobs, more hours. It effects our school work,' said criminal justice major Miesha Mattison, 25. "I'm glad I'm done in December.'

Trustees and other Cal State officials say financial aid will be adjusted to make up for the increase, but financial aid doesn't cover everyone.

A majority of financial aid is in the form of loans, according to the state Legislative Analyst's Office. As one student at the board meeting in Long Beach said, "it's not free money.'

"Most students here are not from well-to-do families,' said Cal State San Bernardino student Gail Kirtley, 35. "This may push students out.'

A returning student, Kirtley pays for her classes out of her own pocket. Last year, she took out a loan. To pay the extra fees, Kirtley said she'd likely cut back on small things such as fancy coffee and eating out.

This increase is worse that many first expected.

At its May meeting, the board planned to raise fees by 25 percent for undergraduates and 20 percent for graduates, but this was postponed due to the the uncertainties of the worsening state budget.

Cal State's budget likely will be cut by $69.5 million more than the expected $260.7 million reduction called for in the governor's budget, Cal State Chancellor Charles B. Reed wrote in a June memo to campus presidents.

Raising fees by 30 percent instead of 25 percent will make up for part of this cut by generating a net revenue of $25 million. The remaining gap will be filled with program cuts, enrollment reductions and layoffs at the Chancellor's Office and Cal State campuses.

Cal State wasn't alone in hiking its fees Wednesday. University of California regents also recommended increasing rates by as much as 30 percent, saying they have no other choice in the face of a disastrous state budget.

The 5-4 committee vote, expected to be confirmed by the full board today, came over the strong objections of students and a few regents who recommended finding another way to meet the shortfall.

This fall, community college fees also likely will jump to $18 per unit from $11, costing full-time students about $210 each year. The Associated Press contributed to this report.