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Bill
to limit tuition, fee increases for colleges
By
Rachel Ann Moore
Online Forty-Niner
Contributing Writer
Assemblyman
Rudy Bermudez has introduced Assembly Bill
870, which will limit tuition and mandatory
fee increases to no more than 2 percent
for students enrolled in the California
State University System, the University
of California System and the California
Community College (CCC) System.
The
bill states that if school fees increase
more than 2 percent, at least one-third
of the revenue will be issued to fund student
financial aid programs in the CSU and UC
systems. Junior Diane Nguyen was not impressed
by AB 870.
"I
think it’s only going to benefit people
who already get financial aid. [AB 870]
doesn’t seem helpful because not everyone
gets financial aid."
Approximately
45 percent of undergraduate students were
given some form of financial aid last year,
but if AB 870 does not pass, financial aid
might not be helpful whether a student receives
it or not.
Bermudez
says, "This bill will eliminate roadblocks
that affect students and their families.
If we don’t eliminate these roadblocks
they will out-price the entire market.
That
market is people like me; people of color."
The
2003-04 budget cuts forced the CSU System
to deny access to over 10 thousand qualified
students.
"It
is the responsibility of the Legislature
to make sure education remains affordable
and accessible for all qualified students,"
Bermudez stated.
At
CSULB, enrollment increased by 7 percent
in the 2003-04 academic year. Many prospective
students were not accepted because of the
seriousness of the school’s fiscal
conditions.
During
the budget crisis in 2002-03, the CSU Board
agreed to raise fees by 10 percent for undergraduate
students. When the 2003-04 school year was
just around the corner, CSU campuses were
already raising fees by 30 percent. Since
the 2003-04 budget cuts, CSU schools faced
a 63 percent increase in undergraduate student
fees. The UC and CCC systems are experiencing
similar increases. Students enrolling in
a UC school in the fall of 2005 will pay
a 45 percent student fee increase, while
community college students will pay a tuition
increase of 136 percent from $11 to $26
per unit. Fee increases led to student protests,
including last year’s walk out at
CSULB and the student protests at California
State University Northridge.
This
is not the first time students in the CSU
System suffered from the state’s budget
cuts. In the early 1990s, CSU schools were
forced to follow a new financial plan because
of California’s declining economy.
In the 1992-93 academic year, CSU campuses
were threatened by a 17 percent budget cut.
As a result, the universities developed
a fiscal recovery plan beginning in the
1993-94 school year. During that time period,
fees actually did not increase for seven
consecutive years.
Assemblyman
Bermudez presented AB 870 as an act to amend
Section 66025 of the Education Code. This
section states that for all CSU and UC systems,
fees shall be reduced by 5 percent below
the level charged in 1997-98 for the 1998-99
fiscal year and fees shall be reduced by
5 percent below the level charged in 1998-99
for the 1999-2000 fiscal year.
Assemblyman
Bermudez says tuition increases are unacceptable,
but sophomore Sara Talavera had a different
view.
"It
might sound good if tuition and fees go
down, but it’s not good if this will
affect the school in a bad way, like if
the school starts to lose its reputation
because they don’t have enough money
to fund their programs."
Bermudez
believes that AB 870 is important for students
as well as their parents.
He
states, "I had the opportunity to go
to Long Beach State and UCLA when tuition
was affordable. This is a bill for [the
students]. Their future depends on affordability."
The
bill is classified as an urgency statute,
therefore if passed; it will take effect
immediately commencing the 2005-06 fiscal
year. The seven members of the Higher Education
committee may vote on AB 870 on April 19,
however, this date is tentative. A two-thirds
vote is necessary for it to be approved
and sent to the Assembly Committee, then
the Higher Education Senate Committee and
finally the Senate Floor. "
Assemblyman
Bermudez encourages students and parents
to support AB 870 and write to the Assembly
so that it will pass.
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