SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - The California State University Chancellor said Friday the schools will not increase tuition for the 2018-2019 academic year, and demanded the state fund the system's critical needs.
CSU Chancellor Timothy P. White said it was in the state’s best interest to fund the university’s critical needs supporting student access, achievement, and degree completion.
“In light of California’s strong economy, California’s students and their families should not be saddled with additional financial burden to attain public higher education,” said White. “We will continue to make the case to lawmakers, who represent all Californians, that an educated citizenry should be at the top of the state’s highest priorities.”
Last year, nearly 100,000 CSU students earned bachelor’s degrees and 20,000 earned graduate degrees.
In November, the CSU budget request sought an increase of $263 million. The system considers its most pressing needs to be enrollment growth, a graduation initiative, increases for employee compensation, healthcare and retirement costs, facility operations and infrastructure requirements.
Governor Brown’s budget proposal included an increase of $92.1 million.
10News reached out to the CSU chancellor to find out how officials planned to compensate for the funding gap. A spokesman said it has made a case for more funding and will continue to do so, until the state budget is finalized in late June. Any financial decisions for the university system dealing with a potential funding shortage would happen in spring 2019.
The Governor's Budget Spokesperson, H.D. Palmer, released a statement about the funding situation.
The Governor’s Budget provides yet another significant funding increase for CSU next year – more than $92 million – without increasing tuition on CSU students or their families. That adds up to increase of $1.6 billion for CSU over six years. We’re pleased that CSU’s policies will be consistent with the governor’s policy of no tuition increases, and will continue to use their additional funding to continue to increase graduation rates and reducing the time it takes to earn a degree -- which can save families an average of $7,000 a year in tuition and fees alone.
