University of California regents and California State University trustees voted Wednesday to raise fees. UC students will see a 7% increase. For CSU students it’ll be 10%.
That’s bad news for Benjamin Okyere. He studies business full-time at Sacramento State and also holds down a part-time job.
"Tuition is expensive already so for tuition to go up again it’s kind of like they don’t want poor people to go to school, that’s what I think."
The annual undergraduate fee at CSU campuses will be about $250 more, raising the total average bill to about $3,400. Meredith Dinnie, a physical therapy student at Sac State, says the tuition hike puts more pressure on her.
"It’s stressful and I’m constantly thinking about it like ‘gee, maybe I shouldn’t get this sandwich today because I should save up money.’"
But CSU officials say the funding increase is needed to maintain services. Paul Browning with the Chancellor’s Office points out that they have two sources of funding: the state general fund and student fees.
"If the state does not provide adequate resources to fund university operations, it’s necessary to increase student fees."
The tuition increase at CSU is the 5th fee hike in six years.