Commentary
I feel sorry for college students today. Tuition and other costs keep going up and up. The latest: California State University is proposing at a tuition increase from $174 to $462 a year, plus future increases.
Current tuition is $5,742 a year. So in fall 2024 the cost could be as high as $6,204, or 8 percent higher. The increase would have to be approved by the Board of Trustees.
The recommendation followed a March report from the trustees’ Committee on Finance, which found a $1.5 billion funding gap. About 60 percent of students don’t pay tuition, so 40 percent would pay the higher amount.
Unfortunately, the news stories on the funding gap—and the supposed need for a tuition increase—did not note the section in the report on the major causes of the gap. This includes the Los Angeles Times’ story, which said of the report, “In the 2021-2022 school year, there was a 14% disparity between what the system spent and what it actually cost to educate students, pay salaries and keep campuses running, the report said.”…