Trustees Approve Fee Increases in Proposed Budget

California State University’s Board of Trustees have approved a proposed 2005-06 support budget that includes student fee increases for fall 2005.

The state university fee for undergraduates will increase by 8 percent, or $185, under the budget plan approved by trustees Oct. 28. Students in teacher credential programs will see the state university fee go up 8 percent to $215, while graduates student fees will increase by 10 percent or $282.

“Raising fees is a very difficult decision for all of us,” said Murray L. Galinson, board chair. “This is one of many actions we are forced to take as a result of the budget cuts experienced over the previous three years. I strongly suggest that we all work together – faculty, students, trustees and the administration – to show the governor and the legislators that the needs of the CSU system are much greater than what this budget reflects.

”The adoption of the fee increase honors the terms of the higher education compact agreed to with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in May. It calls on the CSU to develop its annual budget plan based on the assumption that undergraduate state fees will increase by 14 percent for 2004-05 and by 8 percent for 2005-06 and 2006-07.

Even after the fee increase, CSU students will continue to pay, on average, one of the lowest fees of any university in the nation. The state will continue to pay the largest portion of the cost of education, while students will pay about 22.7 percent of the cost of their education if the 2005-06 budget plan is fully funded.

The 2005-06 fee increase and enrollment growth revenue will generate approximately $101.2 million in new revenue to help fund CSU needs, reports the system. One-fourth of the revenue – $23.3 million – will be used to increase the system’s state university grant pool to help financially needy students.

The 2005-06 proposed budget, which now goes to Sacramento, requests $224.8 million in new revenue to fund a 2.5 percent increase in student enrollment and a three percent increase for general operations, including mandatory costs, compensation and long-term needs not funded during the previous three years.