California’s budget predicament has prompted CSU to raise fees, which has brought on a slew of protests and sit-ins. This fall, for example, fees have gone up $672 for undergraduates, $780 for teacher credentialed students and $828 for graduate students. These hikes are in addition to an earlier $306 fee hike.
As CSU tightens its belt, however, it is working on ways to help bring back funding levels. Reed said CSU is seeking “recover and reinvest” elements for its budget requests. It will ask the state Legislature for a total of $884 million to bring overall state General Fund support to $3.3 billion.
“We need to show the governor and the legislature what the real needs are,” Reed said.
Reed considers the Obama administration stimulus spending of $716 million given to the state’s higher education system as a major help.
“The Obama stimulus package saved our life,” he said. “We would be underwater without a breathing apparatus without it.”
