Governor calls for 10% SSU fee hike

Press-Democrat 1/16/07

By Bob Norberg

Sonoma State University students face the specter of a 10 percent tuition hike under the governor's proposed budget, which also includes a boost of about $7 million for the Rohnert Park campus.

"We are pleased with it, it allows for compensation and enrollment growth, it is what we were anticipating," said Larry Furukawa-Schlereth, the vice president of administration and finance.

The budget proposal assumes that the student enrollment at Sonoma State would grow by 410 students, to about 8,200.

California's state universities would receive $4.3 billion in funding this next school year, which is $300 million more than in the current year.

The budget is partially financed by a proposed 10 percent increase in student fees. It would raise annual fees to $3,674 a year, starting in September.

The fee increase would raise $123 million statewide, bringing the revenue from student fees to $1.3 billion. The CSU system had asked the governor for funds to offset the need to raise fees.

The state funding to the CSU system would be $3 billion under the proposed budget.

At Sonoma State, student fees would generate $26 million and state funding would be $70.4 million, bringing the budget for next school year to $95.9 million.

A fee increase has to be implemented by the CSU board of trustees, said Paul Browning, a spokesman in the chancellor's office.

"It is not mandatory that we raise the fees. In March we will actually be working with the governor's office," Browning said. "It is still early in the budget process. A lot can happen between now and June 15."

The state's deadline to pass a budget is June 15.

If fees increase, CSU would increase financial aid to students as well, Browning said.

The university system has about 417,000 students on 23 campuses, with 46,000 faculty and staff.