Issue Briefs: Student Fees
CSU Student Fees in Perspective
FACTS 2005 STATS ARE NOW AVAILABLE HERE
- Between 1990-1991 and 2002-2003, in-state CSU student fees
have risen 102% (no adjustment made for inflation). If the additional
fee increase of 25% for in-state students proposed by the Governor’s
Budget is adopted by the Board of Trustees, student fees will
have risen 152% over the 13-year period since 1990-1991, and CSU
students will be paying a total of $1185 more in mandatory fees.
(source: “CSU Fee History” with December 16, 2002, and proposed additional
increases factored in)
- In 2001-2002 (the most recent year for which statistics have
been published) approximately 49% of CSU students (184,625 students)
received financial aid and more than half of that financial aid
(54.6% of dollars) was in the form of loans. (source: “Student
Financial Aid” in CSU Statistical Abstract )
- In 2001-2002 Approximately 62% of all undergraduates who received
financial aid at a CSU campus took out a student loan. They average
loan was $4841. (source: “Financial
Aid Frequently Asked Questions”)
- In 2001-2002, of the 49% of CSU students who received financial
aid, 46,031 of them were dependents of families whose total income
was $36,000 per year or less (source: Table 92 of “Student
Financial Aid,” CSU Statistical Abstract,
- In 2001-2002, of the 49% of CSU students who received financial
aid, 49,232 of them were independent with total incomes of $12,000
per year or less. 18,212 of those CSU students had total incomes
of $3000 per year or less. (source: Table 94 of “Student
Financial Aid,” CSU Statistical Abstract,)
- Only 56% of CSU students are dependent on their parents. (source:
“Facts
about the 23 Campuses of the CSU 2002, p. 16")
- 80% of CSU students work. (source: “Facts
about the 23 Campuses of the CSU 2002, p. 16")
- 36% of CSU students work full time. (source: “Facts
about the 23 Campuses of the CSU 2002, p. 16")
- Nearly 40% of CSU students have dependents. (source: “Facts
about the 23 Campuses of the CSU 2002, p, 16")
- About 20% of CSU students are the first generation in their
family to attend college. (source: “Facts
about the 23 Campuses of the CSU 2002, p, 16")
- According to the U.S. Department of Education, over 30% of
students who work an average 15-30 hours per week do not graduate
from college.
- California students accumulate more than $3 billion in federal
student loan debt to attend college. This is more than the entire
general fund commitment to community colleges and more than 3
times what the state provides for all state financial aid programs
combined
- The total cost to attend many campuses of the California State
University has increased dramatically due skyrocketing housing
costs:
- According to campus “cost of attendance” estimates
(with no 2002-2003 fee increases factored in), total costs
(fees, books and supplies, meals and housing, transportation
and miscellaneous personal expenses) for students living apart
from their parents, off campus, in shared housing, at 18 of
the 23 CSU campuses are $13,000 per year or more. (source:
CSU “Campus
Costs of Attendance for 2002-2003,”) The average
cost is $13,632.
- The average total cost for students living in on-campus housing is $12,651. (source: “Financial Aid Frequently Asked Questions”)
- According to campus “cost of attendance” estimates
(with no 2002-2003 fee increases factored in), total costs
(fees, books and supplies, meals and housing, transportation
and miscellaneous personal expenses) for students living apart
from their parents, off campus, in shared housing, at 18 of
the 23 CSU campuses are $13,000 per year or more. (source:
CSU “Campus
Costs of Attendance for 2002-2003,”) The average
cost is $13,632.
CSU Student Fees and the Current State Budget Crisis
- in the early 90’s our state was in an economic crisis
similar to the current one, and the state cut the budgets of the
uc, csu and community colleges. one of the ways higher education
responded was to raise student fees. we saw enrollment drop and
the amount of debt students graduated with increase dramatically.
the state cannot afford to repeat the same mistake.
- CSU systemwide student fees are currently used to improve CSU’s
overall budget situation. Additional campus based fees are used
to support some of the student services that existed prior to
the cuts of the early 90s. Students are concerned that higher
systemwide fees will be imposed to deal with the current budget
crisis.
- If the Governor’s Budget is approved, CSU resident students
will be paying 35% more in student fees than they paid in September
2002. In real terms, around $537 more.
- Student fees were created to cover costs that were not a part
of the “educational mission” of the university (i.e.
student services), not to backfill holes in the state budget.
- Some might argue that student fees in California are low in
comparison to other comparable universities. While that is true,
fees are not the only cost of attending college. Many of California’s
universities are in some of the most expensive cities in the country,
and housing costs are a barrier to accessing education. When a
family sits down to plan for college, fees are only part of the
picture–housing, food, transportation and supplies make
up the whole picture–and based on that big picture they
decide whether college is a possibility.
- Reasonable fees are required to maintain access to higher education, and education is the foundation of an enlightened and progressive society. The Master Plan Renewed: Unity, Equity, Quality and Efficiency in California Postsecondary Education (1987) states that “an accessible and excellent education system is essential to the cultural, political and economic health of a nation or state.”