CSU multi-year tuition rate hike approved by CSU Board of Trustees, CSUMB students worried
UPDATE 3:27 p.m.: In a 15-5 vote the CSU Board of Trustees has approved a five-year 6% tuition hike for all California State University schools.
This increase will start in the Fall of 2024 and total a 34% increase in tuition by the end of the decade.
The first increase would be $342 for full-time undergraduate students. By 2027, students would be paying nearly $2,000 more than they are now.
Students that attend California State University Monterey Bay are worried about the increase, what with them already struggling financially.
"It's really crazy cause I'm already kind of, like, struggling financially," said California State University student Elizabeth Jome.
A college system that prides itself on its affordability, it will now charge up to $2,000 more by the end of the decade.
"I use FAFSA and scholarships to help me with my tuition. And I feel really bad for all students in general, especially people who are already struggling financially," said Elizabeth Jome, a student at CSUMB.
The CSU board says the increase is necessary to cover a funding gap of about $1.5 billion. They also admit some difficulty in making this decision.
"And also if we as a board choose to to vote and approve a tuition increase, we need to make it clear that it is not going to fix and fully fund our deficit," said Wenda Fong, CSU Board of Trustee.
Some of that money goes toward professor's salaries.
"Obviously, like the professors deserve like enough money to help them with their daily lives, but I don't think it should come out of the student's pockets," said Jome.
This change applies to every student at all CSU campuses. CSU Officials say 60% of CSU students would not be affected because their tuition is fully covered by grants or waivers.
UPDATE 2:00 p.m.: The CSU trustees' finance committee passed the tuition increase 9-0. The committee will now come back at 2:15 p.m. for the full board decision to approve the tuition hike.
LOS ANGELES - Tuition at California State University may be getting more expensive.
The CSU Board of Trustees is scheduled to meet Wednesday to discuss a multi-year 6% tuition hike that would apply to all Cal State schools.
If approved, tuition will go up $342 per semester for undergrads, and $432 for graduate students beginning in fall 2024.
The proposal is projected to generate $148 million in new revenue, but the system would also increase student financial aid by $49 million.
A rally is being held Tuesday by the CSU Labor Coalition, which represents the nearly 60,000 workers at CSU, to demand better pay and fair contracts.
An independent salary study, commissioned by the state, found support staff earn 12% below market while faculty wages are stagnant, trailing at least 9% behind inflation. A study by the Teamsters found that CSU skilled trades workers’ pay is 23 percent behind UC workers in the same trades in the same counties.
