After a realistic look at the funds needed to efficiently run the summer semester, Sacramento State and the College of Continuing Education have increased student fees for summer courses.

In an effort to compensate for budget cuts and enrollment caps, Sac State eliminated state funding for the summer 2004 semester by moving the program to the College of Continuing Education.

Through the College of Continuing Education, student fees for the summer semester were projected on February 27 to be $99 per unit. The university and the College of Continuing Education increased the fees on March 2, subjecting students to a more complicated fee structure.

“Students will still be charged using a per-unit fee structure,” said Alice Tom, dean of the College of Continuing Education.

Tom said that students who wish to enroll in 3 units this summer will save money in comparison to last year’s state-supported rogram. The fees for enrollment in 4 or more units will be comparable to those of the fall and spring semesters.

Students who enroll in 1 to 4 units will pay $146 per unit. Enrollment in 5 to 6 units will cost $594; after that, $107 will be added per unit for students who enroll in 7 to 9 classes. Enrollment in 10 units or more will cost $1,023. A $129 fee will be added to cover the costs of general student services.

Larry Glasmire, the director of enrollment analysis, said that although the fees are not as low as Sac State and the College of Continuing Education originally intended, students will still save money when compared with the previous year’s fees.

“The change in the fee structure still results in students paying no more than the state-support program,” Glasmire said.

Tom said that some students could still pay less.

“Some students just need to take one 3-unit class over the summer,” Tom said. “Last year, students paid $594 to take a 3-unit class. This year, they will pay $438.”

The changes in the fee structure were implemented partly because the College of Continuing Education under estimated the expenses needed to support the summer semester.

“We thought we would be able to cover all the expenses with the $99 per unit fee structure,” Tom said. “Some expenses we didn’t think about came up.”

The College of Continuing Education, which receives no state funding, would be unable to cover expenses such as faculty salaries, student services and its own expenses by only charging students $99 per unit.

Glasmire said that the new fee structure, which is similar to that of most California State University campuses, is aligned with the optional summer term fee structure issued by the CSU chancellor last August.

Tom said Sac State and the College of Continuing Education had hoped to keep fees lower than fees suggested by the chancellor.

“The College of Continuing Education and the university were hoping to control costs and pass that along to students,” Tom said.

Other factors in the change were the university’s effort to anticipate budget cuts and to create a summer semester that is similar to those found at other CSU campuses.

“It’s still a good deal,” Tom said. “Not as good as we had hoped, but it’s still a good deal.”