RESOURCES
August 5, 2009 – At their public meeting on July 21, 2009, the California State University Board of Trustees approved additional rate increases for the State University Fee, effective for the Fall semester/quarter. These rate increases apply to all students, both residents and nonresidents of California.
However, many students will qualify for additional financial aid that will cover the fee increase. In addition, the Board of Trustees approved an increase in the rate of tuition payable by nonresidents of California, also effective for the Fall semester/quarter.
These actions were taken by the Board in response to one of the greatest fiscal emergencies in the history of California. In July the State Legislature and Governor reduced state funding for the California State University system by almost $600 million, or an amount equal to the support traditionally given by the state for instruction of 95,000 students. Faced with this emergency, the Board of Trustees and the Chancellor have begun to implement a plan that balances the need to reduce spending with the need to preserve, as much as possible, the quality of the academic program and access to courses and student services. To do this requires something from everyone in the university community. For example, nearly every employee, including the campus presidents and the Chancellor, will be furloughed two days each month for the rest of the academic year. This amounts to a reduction in pay of almost 10 percent. This sacrifice by employees helps avoid, to a significant extent, the degree to which reductions in course offerings and student services will be needed.
In addition, the Board of Trustees recently approved a new Graduate Business Professional Fee, applicable to specified graduate business programs. The Board took this action to provide critical new resources for the graduate business programs in order to assure program quality and the continuing accreditation of these programs. Maintaining the accreditation status of these programs is crucial for students in these programs in terms of the value of the degree and future job prospects.
The newly approved fee levels for the State University Fee, including the State University Education Doctorate Fee and the recently approved Graduate Business Professional Fee are posted at the CSU Budget Office website http://www.calstate.edu/budget/student-fees/.
For further information regarding the Graduate Business Professional Fee, please refer to the May 2009 Board of Trustees resolution (.pdf).
Information about nonresident tuition is available at the same Budget Office website. With the recently approved increase, nonresident tuition, effective Fall semester/quarter] is $372 per semester unit/$248 per quarter unit and is capped at $11,160 for the 2009-10 academic year. These amounts are in addition to the State University Fee and campus mandatory fees.
Finally, as a reminder, students with identified financial need will qualify for some form of additional financial aid to help address the recent fee increase. In many cases, this aid will be in the form of grants that fully cover the entire fee increase. Please contact the campus financial aid office and/or the following campus financial aid website for additional information on financial aid http://www.calstate.edu/SAS/sfa_index.shtml.