CSU considers 6% tuition hike amid budget gaps and declining enrollment

Students enrolled in 23 California State University campuses could see their tuition increase a hefty 6% every year to help close a $1.5 billion budget gap and make up for lost revenue due to declining enrollment.

The CSU board of trustees discussed the potential increase — the first since 2017 — at its meeting on Tuesday, but will not make a final decision until September. If approved, the increase would take effect in the 2024-25 school year, and be reviewed after five years. Students would pay $342 more the first year, although 60% of students who receive financial aid in the form of grants, scholarships or waivers would not be affected.

Tuition is one of the primary sources of funding for the CSUs. The annual 6% increase could produce over $148 million in revenue in the 2024-25 year for the CSUs, culminating in a total revenue increase of $840 million in 2028-29. A portion of the revenue will go towards CSU’s State University Grant (SUG) program to provide financial aid.

The large funding gap makes it difficult for the CSUs to meet the needs of their students. Revenue from the tuition hike could fill some of those needs, including investment in academic support, on-campus jobs, undergraduate research and internship opportunities and support for campus cultural centers.

Currently, CSU tuition is $5,742, which is among the lowest in the country. It has remained fairly constant for the past decade, with only a 5% increase since 2011-12, in part due to support from the California government and the booming economy.

CSU students and staff spoke against the hike at Tuesday’s board meeting, both in public comment and outside the CSU chancellor’s office in Long Beach, where members of the staff rallied against the tuition hike and advocated for better pay.

Dominic Treseler, San Jose State University student and president of the California State Student Association, criticized the proposed hike, emphasizing that it “does not serve the best interest of CSU students.”

“An increase in tuition this high will inevitably prolong students’ graduation timelines, and result in first-generation students paying almost 40% more to graduate from when they started,” Treseler said. “Students should not bear the inequitable burden of addressing revenue shortfalls for the system, especially when the proposal does not clearly articulate how the system will work to generate other revenue sources.”

Larry Gonzales, a full-time student at CSU Bakersfield and father of nine, told the trustees that the proposed hike presents a barrier to budgeting for his future for him and his children.

“I myself am a first-generation, my children hopefully will be second generation. I would like nothing more for them than to attend a university such as this one at home where I’m at and where I can be around them,” Gonzales said. “I fear that higher tuition fees will limit access to education for those who need it the most, including my children and myself.”

Interim CSU Chancellor Jolene Koester acknowledged the financial challenges students currently face but urged the necessity of such a decision.

“So the time is now,” Koester said. “(The policy) proposes a tuition increase that is gradual and predictable. And even when we do that, the resources that will be available to this system will still be challenging.”

According to Treseler, by 2028, the proposed tuition hike would eventually surpass the financial aid provided by the Pell Grant. The maximum amount of money a student can receive from the Pell Grant is $6,895; by 2028/29, tuition would rise to $7,682. Currently nearly half of CSU undergraduates receive the Pell Grant.

Another consideration for the trustees is differences in costs among campuses, depending on the location. The costs can vary for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to fees and regional differences such as housing prices, while financial aid policies can also differ between campuses. According to Julia Lopez, CSU trustee and member of the working committee focused on tuition, figuring out how to make cost of attendance more equitable across CSU campuses will be crucial to better addressing students’ financial burdens.

Among the discussion about tuition increases, members of the board also discussed the need to better disseminate information to high schoolers who are unaware of their ability to receive financial aid to attend a CSU since such information could help out the system’s enrollment woes.