Campus systems plan to hike fees

California’s two massive public university systems are preparing to raise student fees next week in response to anticipated cuts in state funding. The proposals call for basic undergraduate fees to rise by 10% at the 23-campus Cal State system and 7.4% at the 10-campus UC chain, officials said Thursday.

The increases, scheduled to be voted on Wednesday by the two universities’ governing boards, match fee recommendations made by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in January. The governor’s budget update next week is not expected to change the fee plans.

Cal State proposes a $276 annual increase in basic undergraduate student fees for next fall. That would bring statewide undergraduate costs to $3,048 per year, plus at least $749 more for average campus-based charges. Books, housing and food would bring the total to about $16,000.

UC undergraduates are facing a $490 rise in system fees to $7,126 per year. With campus charges added, the total is expected to average above $8,000. With room, board and books, an undergraduate would pay about $22,000.

The fees for graduate and professional school students, already higher, also would increase under the plans.

Although widely expected, the fee plans were not formally announced until Thursday. Student leaders said they plan to protest at the Cal State trustees meeting in Long Beach and at the UC regents’ gathering at UCLA.

Lisa Chen, an official with the statewide UC Student Assn., predicted that the increases would cause more students to drop out for a quarter or a semester to earn more money to cover school bills.

“It’s devastating to see that our education is not being prioritized in Sacramento and with the regents,” said Chen, who attends UC San Diego.

Dina Cervantes, president of the California State Student Assn., said her group may ask Cal State trustees to postpone the vote to allow more lobbying in Sacramento for more revenue. She said higher fees will disproportionately hurt low-income and minority students, whose enrollments had been rising.

“This is going to take us backward from the progress we have made,” the Cal State Northridge student said.

Officials at both universities stress that a third of the fee increases will be set aside for extra financial aid for undergraduates. Cal State fees remain half those of comparable universities in other states, while UC’s are comparable to those at other prestigious state research institutions, they say.

Under a previous agreement with the governor, the universities pledged to limit fee hikes to no more than 10% a year. The UC proposal holds open the possibility of going from 7.4% to 10% if state revenues deteriorate further.

Cal State system spokeswoman Clara Potes-Fellow said the state budget left no alternative to the fee hikes and other economy measures. But she said the fees might be partly lowered if the state’s fiscal condition improved by summer.

--

larry.gordon@latimes.com