It's official. Tuition fees will increase at least $306 for all Cal State University students starting next fall.
As announced in a press release issued by the CSU system, the CSU Board of Trustees voted to approve the fee increase on Wednesday, May 13, citing a decline in state funding as the reasoning behind their decision.
The increase will reportedly be $306 for undergraduates, $354 for students getting their teaching credentials and $378 for graduate students, boosting the total annual expense for undergraduates to just over $4,000.
“Without it, the CSU would likely be eliminating even more classes, cutting more programs, and letting class sizes grow even more,” CSUSB economics professor Eric Nilsson said. Nilsson is convinced that the fee increase was the lesser evil amongst its alternatives.
With the announcement still fresh, many students were unaware that the fee increase was approved.
“Again?!” bewildered student Sydney Han said, who is now considering digging into her savings to cover the cost next fall. “It’s stressful. I should be worrying about academic stuff not financial issues.”
Other students also agreed that it is unfair to have to go through this increase and some felt that the state should have cracked down on other industries (such as the California prison system) instead of taking the “easy way out” by continuing to cut educational budgets.
“We’re here because we want to make a difference and it feels like we’re being punished,” liberal studies major Julie Kelso said.
Nilsson said that even though the fee increase may not necessarily be an essential factor in solving the budget crisis, many people have trouble distinguishing the fact that there is true financial necessity from the assumption that CSU administrators are simply attempting to gain even more power over students and faculty.
Though many students may be feeling the heat after the announcement of yet another tuition fee increase, others believe it is just the kind of sacrifice that university students should expect to make.
“If you can’t pay for it, go to a community college,” said a criminal justice major who chose to remain anonymous. The student shared that though she has struggled somewhat with paying for her education, she thinks the expense should be worth the quality of resources that university students receive.
Students receiving financial aid seemed even less affected by the fee increase, and for good reason.
CSU Board Chair Jeremy Bleich explained in a press release that since financial aid usually covers tuition fees, recipients won’t be seeing any increase at all.
Bleich also mentioned that grant programs will be awarding even more benefits than before, making the fee increase much easier for about half of CSU students.
“I don’t think it’ll be that big a deal just yet,” financial aid recipient Daniel Ramon said of the fee increase. “I think it will balance out other things within the state budget.”
CSU's tuition fee decision follows the lead of the University of California system, whose fees went up over $600 just last week.
Be the first to comment on this article!