CSU fee boost 'not too big a deal'

Ventura Star 3/27/07

By Jean Cowden Moore

Michael Adair isn't too worried that his education at California State University, Channel Islands, is about to cost an additional $252 a year, although he thinks his parents may not be happy to hear the news.

The fee increase is "doable," said Adair, 23, a senior whose parents pay for his schooling as long as he keeps up his grades.

Besides, he said, Channel Islands costs a lot less than the University of California or a private college.

"It's not too big a deal," said Adair, who lives in Oxnard. "A small increase is not asking too much."

The recently approved 10 percent fee increase, which goes into effect next school year, will bring fees at CSU campuses to about $3,450 a year.

As Adair notes, that's still significantly less than fees at UC campuses, which also will go up — by 7 percent. UC fees will be about $7,300, more than double the cost of CSU.

Still, those increases could mean some students will take more classes at community colleges before transferring to a four-year school, said Channel Islands junior Eric Cowen, 22, whose brother goes to Ventura College.

"If they keep increasing fees, that's going to add up pretty quick," said Cowen, a Ventura resident.

In fact, the fee increase comes on top of two other increases in recent years. CSU fees went up by 14 percent for the 2004-05 school year and 8 percent the following year. There was no increase for 2006-07.

Even so, Janet Giudice, who has three kids in college, doesn't mind paying a little more for her son Domenic to attend Channel Islands.

"I know college is very important," said Giudice, a Chino resident. "It's just an experience I want my boys to have. If the costs go up, you just tighten your belt a bit. Gas costs more; everything is going up."

Even students who are paying their own way through Channel Islands said they'll manage the increase, although it may mean working more.

Like Adair, Corbin Walker, 19, described the fee as "doable."

"I'll save more during the summer," said Walker, a sophomore who lives in Newbury Park. "I'm working at the Outback Steakhouse."

Financial aid will cover the latest increase for the school's neediest students. More than a third of CSU students will receive financial aid that covers their fees and not pay the increase, according to a university news release.

That's what Antonietta Zito, 17, a high school student who visited Channel Islands earlier this month, is counting on to pay for her education.

"It's financial aid and scholarships that will pay for school," said Zito, who attends Granite Hills High School in Porterville. "It's a lot, but in the end it will be worth it for a degree."