LONG BEACH (KMJ) — The cost of attending any of the 23 CSU campuses across California – is going up.
A vote by the Board of Trustees Wednesday afternoon officially increased tuition for the 2017 – 2018 school year by $270. The first rise in six years.
It came after hours of testimony from impacted staff and students alike.
“I’ve seen the changes that have come as a result of a lot of the fee increases that have placed such a heavy burden on our students,” says Mike Chavez, who identified himself as a sociology faculty member at Cal State Long Beach.
“I hear phrases being used in this report like ‘some students will be affected’….all of our students are going to be harmed by this and it seems like it to me that if you were to vote in favor of this fee increase that the incentive that is provided is for the state legislature not to act in favor of our university.”
That comment was greeted by cheers from the crowd.
But the vote went ahead, and the increase was approved
A statement issued shortly afterwards by Fresno State, revealed that the Central Valley based site is still the most affordable in the CSU system when considering tuition and fees.
“We understand that a tuition increase of any size could cause concern for some of our students, many of whom are the first in their family to attend college,” continues the statement.
“As always, our financial aid team is committed to assisting students in accessing the available resources to help them graduate with as little debt as possible.”
The CSU system says the change is estimated to bring an extra $77.5 million in net revenue for student success initiatives.
On Twitter, the California Faculty association made continual calls to trustees to reject the tuition rise before the vote took place.
Following the announcement that it had been approved, the CFA Twitter feed labeled the decision as “terrible” and that the board had “a chance to stand up for students and blew it.”
