Rescue California

-0

UC, CSU May Impose Even Larger Fee Hikes
Systems drop current proposed increases to weigh Legislature's plans and Davis' upcoming revision. Enrollment caps are also possible.

May 10, 2003

Page 2

they don't realize they are eligible. Other modest-income students sometimes earn slightly too much to qualify for aid.

Preliminary proposals to cap or reduce enrollment at the two university systems would also probably prove controversial, given the state's rising numbers of college-age people. According to the latest forecast by the California Postsecondary Education Commission, the number of students seeking an education at a public college or university in California will jump to 2.7 million by 2010, capping a 12-year surge of about 36%.

The nine-campus UC system serves about 200,000 students, and the 23-campus CSU system, the nation's biggest, has a little more than 407,000 students.

California's community colleges, the least expensive in the nation, are also girding for fee increases later this year. The governor's January budget proposed boosting fees from the current $11 per credit hour to $24, and Republicans have floated a proposal to push the level up to $26. The Legislature sets community college fees.

PAGE 1 | PAGE 2