Trustees Approve Fee Increases in Proposed Budget
From Dateline (November 11, 2004)
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.
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