by Branden Hopper
The California State University (CSU) Board of Trustees is currently debating a proposal that includes tuition increases for the 2018-19 academic year. If approved, it will be the second time in two years that students will see an increase in their tuition costs. According to the CSU website, under the proposed plan undergraduate tuition would increase by $228, credential program tuition by $264 and graduate tuition by $432.
Under the proposed state budget for 2018-19, administrators on CSU campuses only expect to see $92.1 million of the $263 million they requested, according to the Los Angeles Times. That leaves a nearly $172 million gap in funding that must be recouped by either cost increases or decreases in other spending, including funds to improve graduation rates, increase enrollment and complete new infrastructure projects.
Enrollment on CSU campuses has increased steadily over the last decade from 433,017 students in 2007 to 484,297 in 2017, according to the CSU website. “Over the last two-and-a-half decades, state support per student for the CSU has declined while enrollment demands have dramatically increased,” the CSU system said online. “Today, state support per student remains thousands of dollars below 1990s levels.”
The CSU Board of Trustees plans to vote on the proposed tuition increase in May.
