Posted on 11/15/2006 6:27:02 AM PST by NormsRevenge
LONG BEACH – Some California public university students may be paying higher fees next year.
California State University officials are expected to approve a tentative $4.2 billion budget today that includes $65.2 million worth of potential student fee increases – which could translate into as much as 10 percent higher tuition for the 2007-08 academic year.
CSU officials declined to call the sum a fee increase yesterday, even in theory. “It's a fund we're hoping the governor's office will support,” said Patrick Lenz, assistant vice chancellor for finance. He said there will likely be many adjustments to the budget before it is final.
CSU officials are asking the governor and the Legislature to decide whether 408,000 students will have to write bigger checks next year to attend San Diego State, Cal State University San Marcos and 21 other campuses.
Last fall, trustees raised fees by 8 percent. Students didn't pay more than the current $2,520 annual tuition because the state “bought out” the fee hike for CSU.
Chancellor Charles Reed downplayed the political riskiness of including the $65.2 million fund in the budget, noting that he's gotten verbal support for the additional money from state officials.
Although nothing has been promised, Reed said he is optimistic.
A group of CSU professors on the Academic Senate, the faculty's governing body, asked trustees to beef up their budget requests for neglected areas such as technology, libraries and class size reduction. The request also included faculty housing subsidies because of the high cost of housing in California.
But Reed said the CSU would lose credibility by “asking for the moon.”
Instead, the tentative budget approved by a CSU board committee yesterday lists the highest additional funding priorities as expanding student services to help poor and nontraditional students get into college, and raising administrative and faculty salaries to make them more competitive with other colleges and universities.
The proposed budget estimates an additional 11,000 students in the CSU system next year, a nearly 3 percent increase.
Despite generally good news from state officials that the long fiscal crisis may be easing, budget cuts are still hurting CSU, especially at smaller campuses such as the 7,400-student Humboldt State.
A group of students drove 14 hours from the Northern California campus yesterday to beg trustees not to cut some of their science programs and to keep class sizes from increasing.
“I feel like we're being clear cut, like the forests around Humboldt, blindly cutting with no thought to the long-term effects,” student Rachel Rodriguez told trustees.
She handed them a petition signed by 1,000 students opposing cuts.
..Decision to raise fees in state's hands.. *-?
--
Gulp!
How much of this is caused by reduced/or no fees for the children of illegals???Hmmmm?
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus
In pondering the rapid rise in tuition all across the country I have decided that the reason is similar to what you suggest. The higher the fee for those who can afford it, the bigger the government payment to the schools for those who can't, usually those of the "victim" democrat constituency groups.
On the other side are those who don't qualify for the freebies and need student loans and Pell grants, expanding government influence and ensuring lots of business for banks and other lending institutions.
Either way it gives more money to the leftists to spread their propaganda among the young.
Yes, there is tremendous pressure on the UC system because many students, marginally qualified to attend UC, are applying for entrance just the same, because they are socially embarrassed to attend the CSU system, where properly spoken English is becoming a rare commodity.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.