The California State University Board of Trustees voted Wednesday, March 22 to increase tuition for the first time in six years.
Tuition for resident undergraduate students taking a full course load will increase by $270 to $5,742 per academic year, effective for the fall 2017 semester.
Non-resident, credential and graduate students will face similar increases.
The tuition increases were made necessary by a $167.7 million gap between the CSU support budget request and Governor Jerry Brown’s budget proposal, according to the CSU Committee on Finance’s agenda for the meeting.
The increases will generate $77.5 million in net revenue, which will be directed to programs such as an initiative to double four-year graduation rates, a statement from the office of CSU Chancellor Timothy White said.
Without the tuition increases, CSU Vice Chancellor for Budget Ryan Storm said in January the CSU system would have been left unable to fund the initiative.
The resolution included an amendment added Tuesday, March 21 by the CSU finance committee requiring the chancellor to repeal the increase in the event the 2017-2018 CSU support budget request is fully funded.
“The university faces a critical juncture where additional revenue is needed if we are to continue the trajectory that has seen campuses reach all-time highs in graduation rates,” said Steve Relyea, CSU executive vice chancellor and chief financial officer.
“If our advocacy efforts do not result in adequately funding the trustees’ budget request, the revenue generated by this increase will allow us to add faculty, courses, advisors and other resources to improve students’ opportunities for success” Relyea said.“This is not a course of action that is taken lightly.”
Chancellor White is scheduled to visit San Diego State on Thursday, March 23, one day after the vote to increase tuition.
The purpose of his visit is to stop by various campus entities to discuss the qualities the university would like to see in an interim president, SDSU Interim Chief Communications Officer Gina Jacobs said in an email on March 21.
As of Wednesday, a rally hosted by the Young Democratic Socialists SDSU is scheduled to take place during White’s visit.
The event, entitled “Chancellor White: Listen to Student Voices!” will take place at noon in front of Hepner Hall.
