Amid protests, CSU passes second tuition hike in the last 12 years

The California State University Board of Trustees passed a proposal in a 15-5 vote Wednesday to increase tuition by 6% per year for almost the remainder of the decade at all 23 CSU campuses. 

It was unanimously passed earlier in the day by the trustees’ finance committee.

The proposal passed at the chancellor’s office in Long Beach and will allow a multi-year increase starting in fall 2024, raising the fees by $342 for the academic year. The tuition costs will continue to increase until the end of the 2028-29 academic year.

CSU said it plans to spend the funds on improving graduation rates, employee salaries, facilities, operational costs, “high-demand” degree programs, enrollment and financial aid. 

Before the vote, trustee Jack McGrory said increasing tuition is a “difficult decision.” 

“Neither of my parents graduated from high school,” he said. “My tuition at Colgate and my room and board was greater than my dad’s salary so tuition is an incredibly important issue.”

Several trustees shared similar sentiments, saying the CSU system is in financial need because it hasn’t addressed the budget in more than a decade.

“I am going to vote for this tuition hike as-is, and I understand it is going to be hurting a substantial amount of students that will feel financial pain, but I just don’t think there’s any other option,” trustee Lillian Kimbell said during the meeting. 

Most board members, including Kimbell, who’s been a trustee for nine years, said a tuition increase has hardly been addressed since their time on the board. CSU schools’ annual tuition was only raised once in the last 12 years. It last increased by 5% in 2017. Before that, it was raised by $294 per semester in the 2011-2012 academic year.

“That’s not a business model that is going to work long term,” McGrory said.

CSU officials said the fee hikes are necessary to make up for a $1.5 billion budget deficit.

After the first year of the proposal’s implementation (2024-2025), it will generate $148 million, the document states. After five years of tuition hikes, it would raise $840 million in revenue. The CSU budget has two main sources of revenue — state funding and tuition — the trustees said. In the proposal, officials said it’s “unlikely” state funding will be enough for the CSU system. 

Since the last increase, inflation has risen by 39%, which CSU officials said has made it difficult to provide campus resources as prices hike.

For now, the tuition hike won’t affect those who have their tuition fully covered by non-loan financial aid, which is 60% of CSU students, the proposal said. 

The maximum federal Pell Grant awarded for this academic year is $7,395, but the award numbers for next year aren’t known yet. CSU officials said until the end of the proposal in 2028-2029, the cost of tuition will not exceed the maximum Pell Grant. This leaves a remaining 40% of students who will also experience a tuition increase but without full financial aid coverage. 

Students on several university campuses held protests this week, including San Francisco State University. Students from CSU Long Beach also protested, right outside the chancellor’s office in Long Beach on Tuesday, after giving public comment, the Long Beach Post reported. 

CSU students also expressed concern as the tuition proposal was first announced in July when classes weren’t in session and students couldn’t protest, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. (The Chronicle and SFGATE are both owned by Hearst but have separate newsrooms.)

Some trustees asked for the vote to be delayed but that was rejected. The vote comes shortly before the institution’s application opens for prospective students on Oct. 1. 

The board of trustees will subsequently vote on the 2029-30 tuition and beyond after that time period, Steve Relyea, executive vice chancellor of business and finance and chief financial officer, said during the Wednesday finance meeting.