Bulletin--Cost of Education

AVERAGE ANNUAL COST OF EDUCATION AND SOURCES OF FUNDS PER FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT STUDENT

The twenty campuses and the Chancellor's Office of The California State University are financed primarily through funding provided by the taxpayers of California. The total state appropriation to the CSU for 1993/94 (including capital outlay funding in the amount of $240,459,000) is $1,723,703,000. However, the total cost of education for the CSU is $2,081,064,210 which must provide support for a projected 247,494 full-time equivalent (FTE) students. The number of full-time equivalent students is determined by dividing the total academic student load by 15 units per term (the figure used here to define a full-time student's academic load).

The total cost of education in the CSU is defined as the expenditures for current operations, including payments made to the students in the form of financial aid, and all fully reimbursed programs contained in state appropriations, but excluding capital outlay appropriations and lottery funds. The average cost of education is determined by dividing the total cost by the total FTES. The average cost is further differentiated into three categories: State Support (the state appropriation, excluding capital outlay), Student Fee Support, and Support from Other Sources (including federal funds).

Thus, excluding costs which relate to capital outlay, the average cost of education per FTE student is $8,408. Of this amount, the average student fee support per FTE is $1,978. The State University Fee, application fee, and nonresident tuition are included in the average costs paid by the students; individual students may pay less or more than $1,978, depending on whether they are part-time, full-time, resident, or non-resident students.) See Source of Funds and Average Costs for 1993/94 CSU Budget table.

Bulletin 1994-96 Table of Contents, SFSU Home Page

last modified August 14, 1995