CSU Board of Trustees Approves 2012 Fee Hike
Note: the following e-mail was sent on 11/29/11 to all students from President Robert A. Corrigan
Dear Student:
I hope that you enjoyed the holiday break with family and friends and that you are looking forward to the successful completion of the fall semester.
At their November meeting, the Board of Trustees adopted a budget for fiscal year 2012-13 that will ask the state to restore $333 million to the CSU. We must now convince the Governor and the Legislature to support the Board’s proposal. Educators from across the state have already initiated the advocacy campaign; our office of University Advancement has reached out to parents and alumni and urged them to join the effort; but I don’t need to tell you that the most influential voices will be those of our students – we need you to speak up.
I hope that in the coming weeks you will contact your elected officials through email, phone calls, and by going to their offices. They need to hear from you about the real consequences of budget cuts and how they affect your education. I hope that you will let them know how important their support of public higher education is to you and to your family. We have seen these efforts pay off before; as we learned two years ago when a unified advocacy campaign resulted in a multi-million dollar restoration to the CSU budget.
As you are probably aware, faced with a state budget that cut $650 million from the CSU system this year and the a strong possibility of another cut of $100 million in the coming weeks, the CSU Board of Trustees approved a tuition fee increase for fall 2012 of $498 per year for undergraduate students. In keeping with CSU policy, one-third of the fee increase will be set aside for financial aid, and students who receive State University Grants will receive an increase in those awards.
The Board struggled with this painful decision but the state's disheartening neglect of its institutions of public higher education left them few options. Here at San Francisco State we have managed budget cuts by reducing our administrative infrastructure, not filling vacated positions, limiting enrollment, and tapping our dwindling reserves. I can assure you that no one is more committed to providing you with a quality education at an affordable cost than the superb faculty and staff at San Francisco State University.
I know that many of you may have questions about the budget and the recent fee increases and I want to hear from you if you do. By following the link the below, you can quickly and easily submit any questions that you might have. I will make every effort to ensure that you are fully informed so that you understand how these decisions affect you and so that you can advocate effectively with your elected officials.
Submit a Question (link was personalized for each student).
I look forward to hearing from you,
--Robert A. Corrigan, president
