Friday, June 13, 2003 - California State University trustees will vote next month on a 30 percent tuition hike -- 5 percent more than anticipated -- and will have to consider laying off hundreds of employees and restricting student enrollment in the face of additional cuts from the state.

In a June 6 memo to campus presidents, CSU Chancellor Charles Reed said the state budget situation remains uncertain, yet officials can't delay the tuition increase any longer and must begin planning now for as much as $69.5 million in anticipated additional cuts.

"Managing cuts of this magnitude would require laying off employees, turning away students who wish to enroll and raising (student) fees at rates even higher than what is currently under consideration," Reed wrote.

CSU and the state's other public systems of higher education are waiting anxiously for the adoption of the state budget, which includes across-the-board reductions in funding for education, social services, and city and county programs as Legislators try to tame a $38 billion budget deficit.

Sunday is the deadline for lawmakers to pass their version of the budget, and the governor has until the end of June to sign it. Last year's budget, though, wasn't signed until September.

University of California and California Community Colleges are also awaiting deeper cuts, and tuition increases are planned in both those systems as well.

In early spending plans, Gov. Gray Davis suggested $260 million in cuts to the 23-campus CSU system -- cuts he suggested be partially offset by a 25 percent tuition increase. But Reed, anticipating the Legislators' version of the budget will include additional cuts, said a higher fee increase is warranted.

The 30 percent fee increase trustees will vote on July 16 would take annual undergraduate tuition to $2,040. The increase would bring about $38 million to CSU coffers.

Officials would also have to consider laying off as many as 1,079 employees and restricting spring enrollment by 2 percent, or the equivalent of 6,741 full-time students systemwide, the memo said.

Reed encouraged campus presidents to prepare contingency plans for reducing their enrollment, possibly by not accepting out-of-state students or strictly enforcing academic disqualification guidelines.

Cal State Hayward could have to turn away as many as 320 of such students under Reed's guidelines. CSU policy gives continuing students in good standing priority in re-enrollments.

"Some students are going to be very devastated when they start getting some of these bills in the mail without having time to plan ahead," he said, adding that students will protest the fee increase and will continue to urge the Legislature to reduce cuts on higher education.

The governing board of the 10-campus UC system will also vote next month on a tuition increase, but system spokesman Hannan Eisenman said officials don't know yet how much it will be.

"The specific numbers are depending on the state budget," he said. "If the budget isn't done by then (the July 16 regents' meeting), we will go ahead with a fee vote because we want to give students sufficient notice of the fall fee levels."

Davis' budget proposal calls for a $300 million cut to UC funding and a 24 percent tuition increase -- which would raise average UC undergraduate tuition to $5,082 a year, including campus-based and other miscellaneous fees.