SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif-Cal State University trustees are set to increase tuition by 5-percent next year if voters reject Governor Jerry Brown's tax initiative. Now, even more fees are on the table. The committee is also set to vote on three new fees, something that students at Cal Poly aren't too thrilled to hear about on their first day of school.
It's the start of a new year at Cal Poly, students are buying books, taking their first steps on campus, and filling up their new agendas. There's one thing that students don't want on their agenda, increased fees.
"I'm graduating this year and I'm kind of happy about that because the fees keep rising and rising," said Senior Creigh Crandall. One potential fee is if students re-take a course. Some students said it's a motivating penalty because it takes up class space for incoming students. Others say the fee is making students pay to understand the material. "Sometimes you need to take a course over if you don't understand, so I think its a little bit unfair," said Freshmen Elizabeth Hoose.
The second fee is if a student takes more than 16 units a semester. "If they keep penalizing people who are trying to get ahead and have more than 16 units, like me having 16 units, its not fair to us because we are trying to get out there and get a good job and get ahead in our career," said Freshmen Kaitlin Carpenter.
The last fee is for taking over 150-units. Students like Creigh Crandall believe it will restrict students from trying new things. "It's sort of deterring exploration of your own interest because if you want to explore more than one field your sort of deterred from doing that if you have to pay more money," said Crandall. All three fees are aimed at increasing student access to courses and reducing the time it takes to graduate but it worry's some students about their future. "It worries me that I won't be able to pursue this career and my dream because I won't have the financial stability to be able to pay for that."
These fees will go into affect next fall for the 2013-2014 school year whether or not Governor Browns tax initiative passes. @
