CSU, UC student fees increasing once again
San Bernardino Sun 3/15/07
CSU trustees meeting in Long Beach voted to raise undergraduate, graduate and credential program fees by 10 percent this fall. The hike will bring annual systemwide fees for CSU undergraduates to $2,772, up $252.
UC regents meeting in Los Angeles voted to raise student fees by 7 percent. The increase will affect undergraduate, graduate and professional students, with undergraduate annual systemwide fees rising by $435 to $6,576. Fees for selected law and business schools are expected to rise by an average of 10 percent.
With the increases, which will go into effect unless state lawmakers fund the universities above the amount the governor proposed for next year, systemwide undergraduate fees will have nearly doubled since 2001-02 at both the CSU and UC systems.
University officials say hikes are needed because the state sliced their budgets during California's recent financial crisis.
Norma Magdaleno, a second-year English student at Cal State San Bernardino, said though financial aid covers fees, she must pay the cost up front. On hearing news of more hikes, she said, "Oh my gosh, that's awful."
"Wow," she said. "Well, I can barely afford school as it is now, so about $250 some odd dollars are kind of a blow."
CSU and UC officials say their university systems remain affordable despite recent spikes in tuition.
Including systemwide and campus fees, average fees at CSU schools in 2007-08 will be lower than the 2006-07 fees at 15 comparable institutions, according to the CSU system. According to a report last year by the California Postsecondary Education Commission, UC fees were lower than at three of four similar institutions.
Arno Keshishian, president of Cal Poly Pomona's student government, said though he understands why fees have increased in recent years, he believes the CSU system should more aggressively seek outside sources of money.
"The CSU system is growing," Keshishian said. "In order for it to sustain its growth and be able to provide the education or the quality of education it does, they're going to need more resources."
"Maybe somebody should look into alternate sources of funding instead of just dumping everything on students," he said.
The CSU and UC systems have made efforts to keep fee hikes predictable for students. Officials won a promise from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to grow the budgets of both institutions by at least 4 percent each of the next four years.
Still, critics say, for the sake of students and families who must plan their futures, the CSU and UC systems should do more to control climbing fees.
Late last month, the state Legislative Analyst's Office called for fee hikes of 2.4 percent at both the CSU and UC systems to match predicted inflation costs at those institutions. The nonpartisan office also advised the Legislature to establish a fee policy that would guide the universities in determining the pace of increases.
In the past, fees have risen sporadically, following the boom-and-bust cycle of the state's economy, which hurts students, the analyst's office reported.
"First, the unpredictability and volatility of the fee levels make it difficult for students and their families to plan for educational costs," the LAO report states. "Second, fee changes tend to move in the opposite direction of the average students' ability to pay - increasing when per capita income tends to slow, and decreasing when per capita income tends to increase.