By Kennedy Thomas
Senior Reporter
Last week, the California State University board of trustees voted to strike down current rules regarding student success fees.
On Jan. 28, the board of trustees required all such student success fees to be subject to vote by students after campuses which wish to enact them conduct informational campaigns for students regarding the costs, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The fees are charged at 12 of the 23 CSU campuses throughout the state. They are known as category II fees, which are mandatory fees “that must be paid by a student to enroll or attend a campus of the CSU, as determined by that campus or the Chancellor of the CSU,” according to a 2014 CSU board of trustees presentation from September 2014.
California State University, Bakersfield is not among the 12 CSU campuses listed to have enacted the student success fees, but does charge category II campus-based fees such as a health facility fee, a photo ID fee, and an Associated Students, Inc. fee.
Combined with four additional campus-based fees, the total additional cost of attendance to CSUB is $1,318.
When added to the university’s yearly tuition fee for full-time students of $5,472, the total cost of attendance is $6,790.
ASI Vice President of External Affairs Ricardo Perez said that although the new rules regarding student success fees don’t directly affect CSUB as of now, they do ensure students have a choice in the matter should such fees be proposed in the future.
“I support student success fees when students are in support of student success fees,” he said, in response to whether he felt the fees were justified.
Perez specified that in general, he felt the costs covered by student success fees at other universities should be covered by the state and not passed on to students, but supported the idea of giving students choice in the matter.
In theory, ASI could present future student success fees on behalf of students, or the fees could come from school administrators, Perez said.
However they are proposed, the recent decision from the CSU board of trustees would require students to vote on and approve the fees.
Critics of the student success fees say they were originally created by some CSU campuses in order to combat the tuition freeze enacted by Governor Jerry Brown intended to last until the 2016-17 fiscal year, allowing campuses to charge for services that would, or should, normally be included in tuition.
When asked if he thought current category II campus-based fees charged at CSUB were dissimilar to the previous arbitrary charges of student success fees present on other campuses, Perez said it was different, because every campus-based fee was approved by CSUB students.
He said he did not think students should be exempt for campus-based fees they do not personally utilize, saying that maintaining the school’s programs and services is a group effort.
“I think, collectively, as a university, we’re admitted to this institution,” Perez said. “We’re enrolled, so I think, like everyone else in the past has, we all pay a fee.”
