CSU TRUSTEES TALK TUITION INCREASES
Following a long line of students Tuesday speaking against an increase in tuition and rallying outside, the California State University finance committee approved the tuition increase 9-0.
A vote on whether the tuition increases would be approved did not occur prior to the TimesStandard publishing deadline.
The tuition increase could be 6% a year for the next five years, beginning in 2024 and sunsetting during the 2028-29 school year. The 2024 increase would be $342 for full-time undergrads.
Over the next five years, hundreds of millions in revenue would be generated for the system. The sustainable financial workgroup, part of the board, has maintained the increase is necessary, as it found a significant funding gap.
Many trustees noted the difficulty in making the decision, especially after hearing personal testimonies from students.
“Somewhere along the way, we gave people the impression that this system is magically going to create money to sustain itself,” Trustee Leslie Gilbert-Lurie said.
Others advocated for other means of finding funding, with trustee Jonathan Molina Mancio asking the CSU to get more funding from the state.
“I truly believe that you are headed into an action that you do not fully understand the consequences of,” said Eleni Kounalakis, the state’s lieutenant governor.
She reminded the board that they had heard many students say they would drop out if tuition got more expensive and noted a lack of data on how the increase would impact students.
Trustees Douglas Faigin and Diana Aguilar-Cruz each asked for a reduction in the number of years as a compromise. AguilarCruz, a student trustee, noted that even $100 is a big deal for students.
She held up a diagram of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, pointing out that the aspirational goal of college is in conflict with the basic needs of students.
The finance committee voted against the reduction to three years after interim chancellor Jolene Koester asked them not to, noting this would mean millions of dollars less to the system’s budget.
The board also passed a policy for tuition increases; new changes include limiting increases without reapproval to five years.
An assessment also must be completed 18 months prior to the end of an increase. The policy was also amended after trustee Molina Mancio noted that the process for this tuition increase began during the summer when most students were out of school, asking for it instead to be shifted to during the school year to properly have input from students.
“Somewhere along the way, we gave people the impression that this system is magically going to create money to sustain itself.” — Leslie Gilbert-Lurie, California State University trustee