Long term student fee increase for CSU system

By Katie Plourd
Online Forty-Niner

Contributing Writer The California State University board of trustees passed an initiative for a long term student fee increase which will raise student fees nearly $200.

The vote, which passed Oct. 28, was prolonged in order to answer questions regarding the issue, Clara Potes-Fellow of CSU news said.

The policy, proposed by chancellor's office officials, the CSU executive council, the CSU student association and the Statewide Academic Senate, stated student fees would increase annually. The yearly increases will occur until student tuition pays for one third the total cost of a student's education in the CSU system.

The recent board meeting included the trustees passing the student fee increase policy on a vote of 15 to 3. The vote supports the proposed budget for the fiscal year 2005-2006, when the fees will be taking place according to Potes-Fellow. If the budget is passed, CSU students will pay 22.7 percent the cost of their education. The rest of which is paid for by the state.

The fee increase will raise undergraduate student and teaching credential student tuition fees by eight percent causing an increase of $186 for undergraduates and $215 for teaching students. Graduate students will have an increase of 10 percent bringing their fees up $282.

Although CSU students still pay one of the lowest prices for public education, some students do not appreciate the fee increase.

"It's going to put a damper on a lot of people that are financially having trouble getting through school." said Blair Knapp, a Cal State Long Beach student. "It'll really hurt those who are trying so hard to get a good education."

Knapp, who pays for tuition through student loans, said that $200 is not much, but for people who are struggling to make ends meet, it means a lot.

"My financial loan gives me money to cover tuition and a little for gas and food, so I have some extra," Knapp said. "But if they keep increasing fees it is going to affect people like me because the extra money won't be there."

The fee increase is a result of the Higher Education Compact made between the CSU system and the governor last May, Janet Parker Director of Budget and HRIS at CSULB.

Tuition increases, which have been the main source of funding for the school for the past few years of the budget crisis in California, provide a higher level of accountability to the university Parker said.

CSULB student Nicole Yoder thinks that the state needs to concentrate more money on education rather than increasing student fees to make the university more credible.

"It's not that I don't want to pay," Yoder said. "It's just that I can't afford it."

Yoder said that with most students paying for tuition themselves, the state should spend more of the budget on education.

"It seems like everywhere you go there's like 50 people working on fixing a pot hole in the street," Yoder said. "When the state should be spending money on more important things like our education."