Emi Sasanami
Tuition for non-resident and international students will increase $5 per unit this summer, according to Marco J. De La Garza, dean of student services at Pierce College.
Out of 17,178 students at Pierce, 381 are classified as non-residents and 231 as international.
Currently tuition for non-residents at Pierce is $154 per unit and $164 per unit for international students.
†††† The cost per unit for resident students went from $11 in the 2002-2003 academic year, to $26 this academic year.
A tuition hike is not planned for resident students.
“I believe that the fees are too high now. They should not be increased,” said Norm Levy, chairman and professor of economics at Pierce. “I definitely think it is a bad idea to increase and in fact, I’m very much in favor of decreasing.”
Compared to students in the California State University and the University of California systems, students enrolled in community colleges in California pay a small share of the overall cost.
California Community Colleges (CCC) tuition is the cheapest in the United States and 63 percent lower than the highest community college fees, according to the Public Policy Institute of California.
“If you keep going back east to community colleges, I think their rage is average between $80 and $250 per unit for residential students. We pay $26 per unit,” said De La Garza.
“We are the least expensive…compared to the educational value and classes we offer to the price they pay, I think it’s the best deal in the United States,” said De La Garza.
Current residential tuition for Cal State campuses is $1,464 per academic year for undergraduates enrolling in six or fewer units.
Non-resident tuition for CSU is currently at the rate of $339 per semester unit and $226 per quarter unit.
Besides tuition, all CSU students are required to pay mandatory fees, which vary at each CSU campus.
Current resident tuition for the UC system is $6,141 per academic year.
Non-resident tuition for UC undergraduates is $5,768 per quarter or $8,652 per semester.
A total of $6,141 in mandatory system-wide fees are paid by non-residential students.
“I think we are still cheap even for out-of-state and international students compared to other states and other systems in California like UC and CSU systems,” said De La Garza.
“I think that it’s not going to impact our enrollment that much. That’s my opinion, but I think it’s still very affordable,” he said.
Furthermore, De La Garza said eligibility for financial aid at Pierce won’t be changed due to increasing tuition.
“I think that every increase definitely causes some decline of the number of international students because money is one of big consideration for all students including foreign students like us and normal students,” said Nikita Kuznetsov, 20, Pierce international student.
Kuznetsov is from Moscow, Russia and is majoring in psychology. This is the second semester at Pierce for him since he came to the U.S. in July 2005.
He is taking 13 units this semester and working 19 hours a week on campus. After this semester, he is planning to transfer to California State University, Northridge.
“My biggest consideration is that it might scare away international students from the United States in the end because price is getting high. People might to go to other places where the education is relatively similar and cheaper,” said Kuznetsov.
“I hope that’s not terrible burden for students, but it might mean that some decide not to take summer school,” said Victoria van Tamelen-Hall, director of the international students program.
Additional, international students are required to pay extra fees and tuition with high cost compared to California resident students.
“The thing is that you have to prepare for this when you come to school in the United States, unfortunately,” said Tamelen-Hall.
“Now, I believe that people and the public are beginning to realize that this is not a good situation,” Levy said.
“And I’m hoping that they will express their comment directly to the governor and to the legislature to decrease tuition.”