Cal State panel approves possible tuition hike

A panel of the governing board of California State University on Tuesday approved a plan to raise tuition by 5% next year should a November tax measure fail.

But in better news for students, the finance committee of the Board of Trustees also approved a plan to forgo the January tuition hike and also rollback a 9% hike enacted this fall should Proposition 30 pass.

The committee vote was 6 to 1, with student trustee Jillian Ruddell voting against the measures.

The full Board of Trustees is expected to follow the panel's direction when it hears the recommendations Wednesday.

Other revenue-raising measures, including a per-unit fee for students who repeat classes, were shelved until the board meeting in November.

Failure of Proposition 30 would trigger a $250-million funding cut to Cal State. The 5%, or $150 per semester, hike would begin in January and would bring in $58 million for 2012-13, officials said.

It would bring the annual undergraduate rate to $6,270, not including campus-based fees, books and other costs.

Among the proposals that were postponed were: an increase in per-semester unit supplemental fees for nonresident students by 7% from $372 to $399.

And, a per-unit supplement of $372 for seniors who have already accumulated 150 semester credits; along with a $100 per-unit fee for students who want to repeat a class. Officials estimate that each term, about 40,000 seats are occupied by students who have already taken those classes.

Trustees also delayed a vote on whether to charge a $200 per-unit fee for any credits beyond 16, intended to discourage students from enrolling in a number of classes and then dropping some later.

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-- Carla Rivera in Long Beach

Photo: Cal State trustees meet in Long Beach in 2010. Credit: Katie Falkenberg / For The Times