Increasing student fees by 10 percent has frequently been discussed as support for the 2007-08 budget since the CSU approved the November 2006 budget. Now it looks like it may happen.

The increase in student fees will add $7 million to the Sac State budget, according to Sac State’s Budget Task Force.

Student fees provide financial aid, student services and faculty and staff compensation. The revenue from student fees provide for 25 percent of the total CSU budget, CSU Board of Trustees Chair Roberta Achtenberg said.

“Student fees are part of the overall revenue mix that is needed to sustain our outstanding university system,” Achtenberg said.According to a CSU press release, undergraduate students will pay an extra $252 a year. The trustees said the system would still have among the lowest fees in comparison to institutions around the nation. Roughly a third of the fee hike will be designated for students on financial aid so they will not be subjected to the fee increase, the press release stated.

A Faculty Senate meeting will come on the heels of the California State University Board of Trustees vote to increase the State University fee by 10 percent across the 23-campus system for the 2007-08 academic year.

The majority of the CSU budget comes from the state’s General Fund. During California’s budget crisis, student fees increased almost 25 percent over the 2004-06 academic terms. During that time, more than $500 million from the General Fund was cut from the CSU budget, the press release stated.

Funding for the individual CSU campuses is designated through negotiations with the CSU chancellor’s office. Each campus receives funding based on the number of full-time equivalent students, (FTES.) For every 15 units taken by undergraduates, one FTES is counted. For every 12 units taken by graduate students, one FTES is counted. Sac State failed to meet the proposed FTES every year since the 2002-03 academic year.

In June 2006, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a state budget that provided $226 million to the CSU system and eliminated the proposed student fee increase for the fall 2006 semester, according to the official CSU website.

The 2006 budget also included $54.4 million to be given to the CSU to prevent a student fee increase for the fall 2006 semester.

In fall 2006, Sac State’s Faculty Senate proposed the creation of a University Task Force to review the university’s budget. In December 2006, President Alexander Gonzalez requested that the Task Force provide a comprehensive report on the findings and questions raised by the Faculty Senate.

The Budget Task Force, composed of faculty, staff, students and administration, shows the position of Sac State in the report released last Tuesday.

“Campuses that have difficulty meeting their target one year find it difficult to negotiate significant increases in enrollment targets (and hence, budget increases) for subsequent years,” the report states.

The Budget Task Force Report also reports that enrollment for the upcoming year is flat and that the inability of Sac State to meet the FTES goals over several years has made Chancellor Charles B. Reed hesitant to invest in Sac State’s enrollment growth.

The CSU website states that the 10 percent increase is expected to account for close to $98 million of the $123 million in fee revenue that the CSU will generate. The $123 million in student fees does not include the $174.5 million that the CSU will receive from the State’s General Fund.

The CSU press release included that, in 2005, the board implemented a five-year plan to increase staff salaries to a level that is competitive with similar universities around the country. The staff salaries would be raised with an increase in student fees and more income from the General Fund.

The fee increase could be voided if the state Legislature and Gov. Schwarzenegger provide an additional $65.2 million from the state’s General Fund to the CSU, according to the CSU press release.

Jordan Guinn can be reached at [email protected]