Sacramento State students will be faced with higher tuition next fall if Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s proposed plan for fee increases and cuts to California State Universities is approved.

Schwarzenegger’s plan, released Jan. 9, will raise student fees for undergraduate students in all CSU’s by 10 percent. Graduate fees will be raised by 40 percent. This means full time Sac State students — those taking more than six units — would have an increase from $1,256.50 to $1,382.15 per semester.

Vice President of Academic Affairs Ric Brown says it is uncertain how the fee increases will affect enrollment in future semesters.

“Budget cuts to the CSU system have already required Sac State to cut enrollment for the 2004 academic year by 1,700 students,” Brown said. He expects the fee increases will prevent students from enrolling.

According to Brown, those most likely not to return to Sac State due to rising costs are out-of-state students. Currently, out-of-state students pay $300 per unit in addition to a university fee.

The 1,700 student enrollment cut includes transfer students, graduate students and 10 percent of the freshman class. Schwarzenegger hopes to cut $21 million from the entire CSU system by diverting that 10 percent of freshman to California community colleges.

Prior to budget cuts, Sac State was told not to grow by keeping graduation numbers high. There was some worry after the budget cuts that programs would also be cut to save money. But according to Brown, enrollment decreases will prevent program cuts.

“Rather than cut existing programs, Sac State will reduce enrollment to ensure that current students won’t experience even more difficulty getting classes they need,” Brown said.

Schwarzenegger’s proposal also calls for a per-unit charge for students who take more classes than required to graduate. If a student takes over 10 percent more than the required number of units for their degree, they will pay an extra fee.

According to Brown, the charge would not be implemented right away. But if graduation numbers do not remain steady, students prolonging graduation by taking extra classes or changing majors several times would be faced with the fee.

“The charge would be implemented in order to assure that students are getting a quality education in a reasonable amount of time,” Brown said.

Miki Vohryzek-Bolden, Associate Dean of Graduate Studies at Sac State, is currently doing research to see how the 40 percent fee increase for graduate students will place Sac State among other universities for graduate school costs.

“As far as the national average cost for (graduate) school, CSUS is still under, but not by as much as it used to be,” Vohryzek-Bolden said.

It is possible that graduate students who normally take only one or two classes per semester will take on more to avoid paying extra fees for several semesters, Vohryzek-Bolden said. Currently, there are over 5,000 graduate students at Sac State.

Another area affected by the governor’s plan would be financial aid. A proposed cut would place a cap of $5,482 per year on Cal Grant awards as opposed to the current $9,708 per year limit.

Students at Sac State have mixed feelings about Schwarzenegger’s proposal. Dina Holler, a sophomore communications major, believes fee increases are inevitable in a time of intensive budget cuts.

“The money has to come from somewhere. No one wants it, but fee increases are going to happen,” Holler said.

Holler, who has been working at the Games Room of the University Union for almost a year, says the fee increase may simply mean picking up a few extra shifts at work.

“I’m not going to drop out of school over a few extra hundred dollars. I have too much invested in my education already,” she said.

Graduate student Christina Ng, who is working on her multiple subject teaching credential, thinks the graduate fee increase is ridiculous.

“I just paid an extra $261 in October,” she said. “At this rate, I won’t be able to afford to go to college much longer.”

Some students, such as Sean Catanese of Students for Access to Education are taking a more proactive approach in preventing further fee increases.

“Our primary goal is outreach. We want to organize coalitions among on-campus organizations,” Catanese said. Students for Access to Education is holding weekly meetings to organize a walk out rally in March or April to protest further fee increases.

Schwarzenegger will propose a revised budget plan on May 1. If approved by the legislature on time, it is expected to be implemented beginning July 1.