Published 2011-11-08T19:25:00Z”/>

Kenny Lindberg

In preparation for its regular meeting in November, a representative from the California State University budget office warned of a possible $498 tuition increase for the upcoming 2012-2013 academic year.

The fee increase will be implemented if the state rejects a $333 million support package request from the CSU once the board of trustees forwards its current budget proposal to the state Legislature, said Robert Turnage, CSU assistant vice chancellor for budget.

“The state has an opportunity to not implement this fee increase,” Turnage said.

The $498 fee hike would be for full-time undergraduate students with proportional increases for all other student demographics. Full-time graduates will have to pay an additional $618 per academic year, Turnage said.

The CSU needs the extra money because of dwindling state support and higher costs.

The fee increases would give the CSU system an estimated $138 million in additional revenue after $68 million has been set aside for financial aid purposes, he said.

The $138 million is accounted for in the $333 million support package the CSU is requesting, Turnage said. Also in the package is $85 million to provide a compensation pool to be used for faculty and staff pay increases.

The request would also give $58 million to a variety of student success initiatives, including improvement of graduation rates, reducing dropout rates and the need for remedial instruction.

The CSU sent a similar budget request to the state last academic year, but was denied, Turnage said. The last time the state intervened with this type of support money was in 2006 – an election year.

“Over the last 10 years the state has cut the CSU budget nearly every year and given us a tuition increase in that year,” said Miles Nevin, executive director for the California State Student Association.

The CSSA was first informed of the potential tuition hike by the CSU on Friday and was given a presentation by Turnage over the weekend in San Diego, Nevin said. The event was attended by Joe Banez, Associated Students director of Legislative Affairs.

“When students see this number, this $498, they should be furious because this is preventing them from taking their next step in life and from being successful,” Banez said. “It puts a huge burden on their shoulders and causes them to get into more debt then they want to be.”

If the $498 fee increase is implemented, given no spring 2012 hikes, it would raise the yearly tuition to $5,970, which is more than twice the amount paid five years ago.

The last time the CSU board of trustees approved a tuition hike was over the summer, when they opted to raise fees by 10 percent for the fall 2011 semester.

“We already have a huge burden on our shoulders from the past increase,” Banez said. “And I can see a further increase of close to $500 being something that hurts the future of students’ education.”

It is time for students to join together and put pressure on the Legislature to pass the $333 million support package, which would eliminate the need for a tuition increase, Banez said.

The current budget proposal is scheduled to be presented to the board of trustees at its regular meeting this month between Tuesday and Wednesday.

“We need to let the Legislature know that we need them to support us,” Banez said. “We, as students, can’t afford these tuition increases.”

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<strong>Kenny Lindberg can be reached at</strong>

<em>[email protected]</em>