The CSU Board of Trustee’s approval of a nine percent tuition increase has been put on hold for the 2012-2013 school year by the state senate. This would have been the ninth increase in nine years for public and private universities.

The California State University (CSU) will eventually have to deal with an additional $250 million budget cut, which will make a total of $750 million in cuts to the CSU system. If voters decide to reject Gov. Jerry Brown’s tax initiative in the November election, this will also reduce the CSU’s state funding to $2 billion.

“The CSU system is the largest system in the country as far as higher education is concerned,” said CSUEB’s Vice-President of Administration and Finance Bradley Wells. “It currently has 426,534 students and to serve all the students in the system, the preliminary CSU budget has estimated about $315 million in additional revenue is needed from the state to cover costs,” said Wells.

According to the CSU’s Support Budget for 2012-13, the revenue needed from the state would cover growth in enrollment at $100 thousand, mandatory costs of miscellaneous benefits at $50 thousand and compensation increase at $95 million.

Additionally, the new graduation initiative/student success programs require $40 million in funding, while important maintenance needs are estimated at $15 million and an information technology infrastructure upgrade will cost around $15 million.

These state funding cuts have driven CSU officials to freeze the majority of its spring 2013 enrollment limits, which is when they will accept applications for fall 2013 on a wait-list basis, while holding off on decisions like early admissions until the outcome of Gov. Brown’s tax initiative is decided. If the initiative does pass, then the CSU’s and UC’s would receive $125 million of their $142.6 billion budget. If it doesn’t pass, then more budget cuts will be made and tuition increases will be implemented.

“Gov. Brown’s tax initiative will decide whether to increase the state’s sales taxes, which would create tax brackets at higher rates for people who earn more money,” said Wells. “The CSU Board of Trustees will meet in July and September to hear items on the budget issue and whatever decision is made will depend on the results of the November election,” he added.

The tuition increase has students protesting across California. Some students at CSU Northridge have been participating in hunger strikes, and now student activists will have to rally together in order to channel their energy into ensuring that Gov. Jerry Brown’s tax initiative passes.

Although students and faculty members will have to prepare to fight against tuition increases and budget cuts throughout the years, the tuition freeze has come as a temporary relief to the affordability of education in the future.