Ferrari Williams
The Board for UC and CSU has approved a hefty tuition increases which include a 10 percent undergraduate tuition hike for the California State University system and a 7 percent increase at the University of California.
Although California has the cheapest public university tuition in the U.S., CSU students will pay an extra $252 a year while UC students will reach into their pockets to dish out $435 extra a year beginning next fall. This will be the fifth tuition hike in six years.
With gas prices sky rocketing higher than the sky’s limit and the cost of living racing to beat them to the finish line, students are becoming completely overwhelmed with just the thought of getting by on their own.
Unfortunately, many students already are and the task is not easy.
Most students find themselves spending the majority of their earnings on school supplies and fuel with little extra money for themselves.
With so many expenses on an already extremely crowded platter, community college students will have to work even harder for the future.
Tuitions have nearly doubled since 2002 and they have yet to let up.
According to Elizabeth McCormick, the Pierce college transfer center director, students at Pierce have nothing to worry about.
“The increase has not directly affected our students,” said McCormick, who has an abundant number of students at the center everyday. “I don’t know much about the increases but I know it hasn’t affected the students yet.”
McCormick has not heard many students, if any, mention the tuition increase and she doesn’t feel that she will get very many inquiries.
Although most of the students who use the transfer center’s resources plan on transferring to a CSU or UC, she hasn’t heard any complaints. She feels it’s mainly because of financial aid.
“Financial aid covers most of the cost for the community college and the university and it increases when the tuition increases,” said McCormick.
For those who qualify, financial aid can be an excellent source to help cover costs, but not everyone will reap the benefits.
Blanca Oviedo, manager of the financial aid department, knows all about the process.
“We have a large number of students depending on financial aid here at Pierce. 9,112 students listed Pierce as a school while 4,537 have already submitted completed documents to the financial aid office,” said Oviedo.
However, there are financial aid programs offered at Pierce that are not offered at the universities.
For instance, the Board of Governors fee waiver which is offered to students meeting the income level and helps pay for the cost of units.
Some community colleges even offer book grants which award students up to $200 to pay for books.
Unfortunately, these financial programs are not offered at the university level, leaving transfer students to rely on other sources of income.
Although students attending Pierce who have just graduated from high school have about two years until the increase will affect them, those who have already finished their prerequisites and plan to attend a CSU or UC have a “gift” waiting for them after transfer in the form of a bill that is not very pleasant.
Pierce students have experienced the blow before.
The cost per unit has increased dramatically over the past few years making it a little harder for an already working-class community college student.
With the price of books, parking permits and health fees to think about, students have less time to focus on studying and more time to stress over working longer hours to cover all the expenses.
“I haven’t heard much about the increase but I’m not looking forward to paying them,” said Anthony Thomas, an 18-year-old student who graduated from high school last summer.
“I don’t have long before I transfer and I’m not prepared to pay that much for a university.”