An increase in community college fees from $26 to $33 per unit was one recommendation made in a report on the governor’s budget proposal released by the California Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO).
The non-partisan LAO, reviews the budget and makes recommendations to the governor and legislators. The group is recommending the increase to assist in fiscally stabilizing community colleges.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger did not specify fee increases in his budget, released in January, and an increase is “not likely to go forward,” said Jennifer Baker, the legislative advocate for the Faculty Association of California Community Colleges. The FACCC represents faculty and staff of California community colleges and had a part in organizing the “March in March” in Sacramento in 2004 to protest the fee increases that hit students earlier this school year.
Scott Lay, Vice President and General Counsel of Governmental Relations at the Community College League, echoes Baker’s idea that the fee increase is unlikely.
“Although the LAO is highly respected, they usually have very little impact on community colleges,” Lay said. “I expect they will have very little impact on community college fees.”
Due to California’s deficit, the LAO included the recommendation for increased fees which, if implemented, are projected to add $100 million in revenue to the state general fund.
Even though there is no current formal increase in the budget, Schwarzenegger does have the opportunity to include a fee hike in his revision, which is expected to be released in May 2005, after viewing the LAO report.
Much of the uncertainty about student fees is due to the fact that, despite the attempts to devise a state fee policy, there is still none in place. “The state has made fee decisions based almost entirely on the state’s fiscal situation-raising fees in bad fiscal times and lowering them in good fiscal time,” according to a statement found on the LAO Web site.
So far, however, the lack of a state fee policy is allowing community college students to avoid fee increases, for now, where students at UC’s and CSU’s will likely be faced with increases.
A plan described by H.D. Palmer, Deputy Director for State Department of Finance, is to add “more predictability and stability to fee policy” with regard to per-unit-fees at UC’s and CSU’s putting students at those colleges at a financial disadvantage to community college students.
“Both UC and CSU compacts specify that fees will be increased by no more than 10% on average during a 3-year-period,” Palmer said.
Other groups, such as the FACCC, views Proposition 98 and the issues surrounding it, as a potential threat to the uncertainty of future per-unit-fee-costs and other issues for community college students.
Opponents of the fee increase suggestion are upset at the fact that increases would be recommended even when the governor himself did not call for it in his budget.
“We are disappointed in the Legislative Analysts Office for their unreasonable proposal for a fee increase,” Lay said.
Lay blames the federal policy on a “silly” concept called “tuition sensitivity” which he says lies at the basis of the LAO’s calculations for the proposed increase. Tuition sensitivity is a program where grant allocation is based on the fees students pay, even though California’s high cost of living is not factored into the equation.
“The Federal Policy is so stupid, even the president is proposing to get rid of it. Why is the Legislative Analysts Office Pursuing it?” Lay said.
Sherri Hancock, Skyline’s acting dean of admissions and records and director of financial aid, stated in an e-mail that although she believes the fee hike issue to be “premature” she does encourage “students to be active in their citizen role to provide input to their legislator about their position on the proposal.”