Mustang Daily Staff Report
news@mustangdaily.net
California State University (CSU) students can sigh in relief following the CSU vote against increasing tuition for the 2013-14 school year on Jan. 22.
California Gov. Jerry Brown was in attendance for the Board of Trustees meeting which included the discussion of a proposed budget for the upcoming school year and the possible effects it would have on the CSU system.
Brown proposed a budget that includes a $125 million state funding increase. The governor also wants the CSU budget to receive a 4- to 5-percent increase for the next four years.
“That increase in funding in the governor’s proposed budget is positive for the CSU system,” CSU Spokesperson Liz Chapin said. “It means more opportunity and access for students in the CSU which is a good thing.”
At present, the CSU is not operating under the assumption that we will be having tuition increases for next year, Chapin said.
“Whether or not there’s a tuition increase is dependent on state funding,” she said. “There is a chance that the governor’s proposal — at least for the CSU — could change, but assuming that it doesn’t, obviously the CSU would not have a tuition increase for 2013-14 as discussed in the meeting. What gets approved in July isn’t exactly what (Brown’s) budget is right now.”
After the governor’s budget is submitted to legislature in January, it goes through the legislative analyst’s analysis of the budget in February followed by CSU Constituent Briefings and Legislative budget hearings from March to May. The state budget is then adopted in June.
The last time tuition was raised was in 2011-12, after a July 2011 vote, Chapin said.
Undergraduate tuition for 2013-14 is set at $5,472 — approximately $500 fewer than the original 2012-13 tuition of $5,970. Students were refunded the difference this past November however, following the passing of Proposition 30.
Because of the passing of Proposition 30 — a tax increase initiative — in November, the CSU is refunding students the $249 per semester tuition-fee increase implemented for Fall 2012.
As far as the vote against a tuition increase for next fall, mechanical engineering junior Lilly Hoff is glad the cost will stabilize.
“I’m pretty excited about (not having a tuition increase),” Hoff said. “Being out-of-state, I have to pay quite a bit more.”
While Hoff is happy CSU officials voted against a tuition increase, she said it doesn’t have that much of an effect on her because her grandparents pay her tuition.
Regardless, any or no change in tuition is relevant to those attending CSUs, according to Chapin.
“If our state funding goes down, the tuition fees need to go up in order to compensate for that loss,” Chapin said. “Every year there are also economic changes and the CSU tuition is dependent on how much state funding the system receives.”
Hoff said not having a tuition increase will be beneficial for Cal Poly being that Brown’s proposed budget is not enough to increase enrollment.
“It’s going to keep (Cal Poly) a really selective school,” she said.
Cal Poly students aren’t the only ones that will have dormant tuition, as there are 22 other CSU campuses throughout California.
“For the CSU system, no tuition increase means that the state is beginning to reinvest in higher education,” Chapin said.
Kassi Luja contributed to this staff report.