CSU Board To Debate Yet Another Tuition Hike

LONG BEACH (CBSLA) – Just 10 months removed from approving a controversial five percent tuition hike, the California State University Board of Trustees will discuss whether to raise tuition again during a two-day meeting that begins Tuesday.

The new potential increase, outlined in a proposal sent in November to the California State Student Association, would raise resident tuition by $228, taking it from $5742 to $5970. Non-resident tuition would rise by a similar amount. The hikes would generate roughly $69.8 million in 2018-19, according to the CSU staff report.

The board is scheduled to discuss tuition Tuesday afternoon as part of a presentation to the board's Finance Committee on the governor's budget proposal at CSU's headquarters in Long Beach. CSU Chancellor Timothy White said the board "will have a frank discussion about the proposed level of funding in the 2018-19 state budget and the needs of the university."

In March of last year, amid large protests, the CSU board approved a 5 percent increase in tuition at CSU's 23 campuses, bringing annual tuition to $5,742. It was the first hike in six years for CSU.

According to a staff report to the board, the governor proposed a $92.1 million increase in funding to the CSU system, $10 million less than was anticipated last year. That leaves a $171 million gap between the amount the CSU requested and what the governor actually offered.

When he released his budget proposal, Gov. Jerry Brown said the CSU and University of California systems will have to find a way to operate with the funding he is offering and "live within their means."

"They're not going to get any more," he said. "They've got to manage."

The UC Board of Regents last week postponed a decision on a possible tuition hike.

Prior to last year's tuition increase, CSU said that nearly 63 percent of its undergraduate students, or about 255,000 students, have their tuition fully covered by financial aid.

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