INCREASES APPROVED

The California State University (CSU) Board of Trustees approved the proposed two-step tuition increase (discussed in the previous blog). The first increase the Trustees approved is a mid-year increase of five percent for 2010-2011 that will be implemented on Jan. 1, 2011 for the winter and spring semesters. Second, the Trustees accepted a 10 percent annual increase for the 2011-2012 academic year, effective Fall 2011.

Although the 2010-2011 budget received its first increase in CSU funding since the budget cuts, funds are equal to the funding CSU had five years ago. However, the CSU system has about 25,000 more students than five years ago. Also, some of the resources allocated to the 2010-2011 budget is part of a one-time stimulus to promote enrollment expansion. The one-time stimulus will be depleted before the new students leave the campus. The tuition increases are meant to finance the enrollment expansion after the stimulus is exhausted.

The Trustees, however, have included in the 2011-2012 budget proposal a request for the state to provide $121.5 million to "buy out" the planned 2011-2012 10 percent tuition increase. The "buy-out" funds would allow the CSU to withdraw the tuition increase.