Computer science major senior, Ching Liu enrolled for 12 units this semester because she thought she could not afford more. What she did not know was that she could have taken more units and only pay for 12 due to a change in the CSU’s non-resident tuition system.

“I paid for 18 units last fall,” said Liu. “I wanted to enroll in many units this semester too, but I could not pay for more than 12 units.”

The CSU Board of Trustees discussed the system’s change for non-resident students in order to make a limit for them to pay maximum 30 units which would cost $8460 per academic year that started in November 2002. According to CSU public affairs, the proposal was approved for long-term enrollment needs of non-resident students.

Many international students did not know about the changes by the CSU to raise the limit to a 30 unit maximum.

“I knew the change from my friend before I paid for this semester,” said Yumi Ikeda, a senior finance major. “I didn’t need to pay for extra. When a cashier asked me for the regular amounts per units, I told her that I would excess of 30 units per academic year.”

Some cashiers told students who would pay more than 30 units about the change when they noticed.

“I was told about the maximum when I was going to pay 16 units,” said Ran Kato, a senior computer science major.

A student who heard about the information about the maximum non-resident tuition received a $1,128 refund for four units from the student Financial Services Center.

According to officials at the center, that was the only case they had when a student asked for payment review.

There is a database for the refunding service to where officials at the center try to collect students who paid for 30 unit more than. The program enables them to correct inadequate payments automatically.

“We try our best to inform international students about the important information,” said Eric D. Merchant, Coordinator, International Students/Programs Office of Global Education. “I informed about it when I had an orientation. For existing students, there are three ways to check our information: e-mail, letter, and Web site.”

Students who did not receive the e-mail need to sign up for the mailing lists at the office of global education. Students need to carefully read the letter from OGE because it contains important notices, Merchant said.

After the fee increases, many students claim that managing their finances became harder.

“Our tuitions are way expensive,” Liu said.

Non-resident fees increased from $246 per unit to $282 in during the Spring 2002 semester. The change in fees resulted in the CSU system gaining $11.7 million in the overall budget plan for the 2002-2003 academic year.

Non-resident students are required to take minimum 12 units.

In addition to the unit price, non-residents need to pay for the registration fee as well as residents.

“I guess many international students still don’t know about the maximum payment,” said Ikeda. “It’s good news for us to save money, and I got a good deal from it.”

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