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CSU Tuition Hikes
March 2005

The Governor is touting the $110 million that his 2005/06 budget proposal promises to add to the CSU General Fund. But this inadequate increase comes after $500 million in cuts over two years. The result of those cuts is that, for the first time in its history, the CSU system is being forced to turn away qualified undergraduates: 25,000 this year, and at least another 15,000 next year.

California has one of the largest economies in the world. Key to that success has been our system of community colleges and public universities, since nothing raises an individual’s productivity and quality of life more reliably than a college degree. The 1960 Master Plan for Higher Education wisely guaranteed that all high school graduates would get a chance to go to college. The Governor is breaking that promise.

Not only are students being turned away, but the Governor promises undergraduates at San Diego State and Cal State San Marcos an 8% tuition hike. Credential  program and graduate students will pay 10% more. This comes on top of an overall increase of 70% in the last three years. Next year, tuition will cost more than $2,500 annually for undergraduates, and about $3000 for credential program and graduate students.

This drastic increase in college costs amounts to a regressive tax--a tax on those least able to afford it. Most of the people in my classes are the first in their families to attend college, and most are working full-time at low-paying service jobs. Already, they are barely able to cobble together the resources to pay for expensive books and tuition.

Students at Cal State San Marcos and San Diego State rely on our state’s pioneering public higher education system to help them improve their lives and their ability to contribute to our community. CSU students become our nurses, teachers, social workers, engineers, reporters, and managers.

The Governor is promising them higher fees, crowded classrooms, and meager class offerings. This is no way to lead California to a strong and productive future. Generous funding for higher education should be priority number one.