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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — California State University's governing board will vote Wednesday on whether to raise tuition at its 23 campuses for the first time in six years.
The nation's largest public university system says it needs to hire more faculty and add more classes to accommodate growing enrollment and insufficient state funding.
The proposed annual hikes would increase undergraduate tuition by $270 for the 2017-18 school year. The current tuition is $5,472.
"CSU is doing more with less," said spokeswoman Toni Molle, adding that the additional dollars would be used to hire 400 new faculty, add 3,000 of the most highly demanded course sections and expand academic and student support services.
"We will continue to advocate in Sacramento for fully funding the Trustees' budget request," she said.
Wednesday's vote comes before CSU receives its final budget from the state in July. The provisional budget indicates CSU will receive $157.2 million in additional revenue, but that would still leave a shortfall of $168 million, Molle said.
CSU said in a statement that nearly 63 percent of California State University undergraduate students, or about 255,000 undergraduates, have their tuition fully covered by financial aid and would not be affected by the increase.
Many students and several trustees have voiced concerns about a tuition increase, saying that tuition is only part of the expense of attending college, which costs thousands more after factoring in housing, books and living expenses.
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