Tuition will not increase at California State University next year

press conference, he said the universities would simply have to lower their cost structures and “live within their means.”

“You’re getting 3 percent more and that’s it,” Brown said. “They’re not going to get any more. They’ve got to manage. I think they need a little more scrutiny over how they’re spending things.”

The Legislature has been more sympathetic to CSU’S requests, particularly because the system now has to turn away about 30,000 qualified students each year for lack of space. Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon both said in statements that they were pleased with the decision not to raise tuition and were committed to increasing state higher education funding.

That does not mean there will be a deal with Brown, however. White acknowledged the risk of calling off the fee hike without a funding guarantee. “I’m a perennial optimist,” he said. He challenged Brown and lawmakers to take leadership on closing a projected labor shortage in California of more than a million college graduates over the next decade, especially as rising rents and other high living costs have made it harder than ever for students to stay in school.

“It’s a wise decision for the state,” he said. “I see this as Californians coming together around what’s in the best interest of its students.”