THOUSAND OAKS : CLU Raises Tuition by Nearly 10%

Undergraduate tuition at California Lutheran University will jump nearly 10% for the 1993-94 academic year, boosting total student costs to $17,240, the governing Board of Regents announced Tuesday.

In addition to hiking tuition 9.8%, the regents raised room and board charges $200 a year and increased other student fees slightly.

Together, the package of new costs represents an 8.1% increase for the 1,400 undergraduates who live on Cal Lutheran’s Thousand Oaks campus.

“I’m glad to be a senior,” said Charlie Flora, editor of the school newspaper, who will graduate before the new rates take effect.

“They’ve got to figure out a way to make tuition increases less drastic for the students.”

Last year’s price hike was similarly steep--a 9.6% increase that raised undergraduate tuition to $15,950, university officials said.

The higher tuition costs will be used, in part, to subsidize financial aid for those students who cannot afford to attend Cal Lutheran, Ventura County’s only four-year university.

Almost 85% of Cal Lutheran’s undergraduates receive financial aid in the form of grants, loans or work-study programs.

Escalating personnel costs and the need to repair deteriorating buildings also forced the regents to raise tuition, officials said.

A major upcoming expense will be the university’s $70-million, decade-long plan to build new academic and athletic facilities.

“We’re trying to make this an institution we can be proud of,” said student body President Jason Russell, who sits on the Board of Regents and voted for the increase. “We may be raising tuition, but we’re also maintaining programs. You’re paying for the quality of education you get here.”