Faced with rising tuitions, CSU students now face specter of less financial aid
When the California State University system passed a plan this past fall to raise tuition, Cal State Monterey Bay President Vanya Quinoñes reassured students that financial aid would help soften the blow. Now, one of the most widely used scholarships is scheduled to get a $110 million cut for the 2025-26 school year and it could have been worse.
The state legislature passed the 2024-25 budget Wednesday, which detailed major cuts throughout the state, including removing $110 million from the Middle Class Scholarship in the 2025-26 school year. Gov. Newsom had originally wanted to cut the scholarship by around $510 million and moving forward leave it at around $100 million.
About 46% of Cal State Monterey Bay students currently receive the scholarship, which in the 2024-25 school year will have a pot of $926 million (consisting of $637 million ongoing from the General Fund and $289 million on a one-time basis from the General Fund). The scholarship is available to students and families who have assets up to $217,000.
In the CSU system, the maximum award covers 40% of tuition and fees. On average, Cal State Monterey Bay students receive around $3,500 from the Middle Class Scholarship, according to university spokesman Walter Ryce.
For CSUMB, the financial aid hit comes after a $12 million structural deficit was revealed two years ago. At the end of the 2023-24 academic year, the deficit was reduced to around $4 million through program restructuring, cuts to the operating budget, voluntary resignations and a recent announcement of 16 layoffs.
The state is also struggling with a deficit totaling around $47 billion. The proposed state budget of $297 billion which has been sent to Newsom to sign, would cover the state’s deficit through $17 billion in cuts to several programs including the UC/CSU budget, the state prison budget and a delay to a pay increase for health care workers.
The budget does increase base funding for the CSU by $240 million, offset by a one-time base reduction of $75 million.
“The 2025-26 reduction would certainly have an impact if additional appropriations were not allocated by then,” said Amy Bentley-Smith, spokeswoman for the Chancellor’s Office.
According to Ryce, a vast majority of Cal State Monterey Bay students (81%) receive some type of financial aid to pay for their education, including the Pell Grant, the State University Grant, Cal Grant as well as the Middle Class Scholarship.
The Cal Grant hasn’t received any increased funding or a decrease. In 2022, Newsom had agreed to expand the program and allow more students to qualify as well as receive more money, but only if the 2024-25 budget had room for it, according to the nonprofit news agency CalMatters.
Cal State tuition for a full-time undergraduate student is currently $5,742 per academic year. Following a decision made by the Board of Trustees last September, tuition is set to increase by 6% annually over the next six years. At the end of that timeline, tuition will be around $7,700 for full-time undergraduate students.
The tuition increase spurred protests across the CSU, including at Cal State Monterey Bay, with students opposing the increase and calling for Quinoñes to condemn it. At an October town hall meeting hosted by the university’s Associated Students, Quinoñes assured students she was working to increase financial aid opportunities to help offset the financial burden on students and families.
“The CSU continues to be one of the most affordable university systems in the country,” said Bentley-Smith. “That, coupled with robust financial aid for our students, allows most CSU undergraduate students to graduate without student loan debt. Affordability is a top priority for the CSU.”
Along with changes to the higher education budget, the proposed plan has managed to avoid the elimination of any K-12 programs through deploying the Proposition 98 Reserve and several deferrals in the budget.
After $12 billion in withdrawals over the next two fiscal years, around $22 billion will be left in the reserve fund, providing cushioning for future years, according to the proposed budget report. The Inclusive Early Education Expansion Program, which increases early learning and care for children with disabilities, will receive $100 million to continue the program.
There is also an allocated initial investment of $25 million to be reserved for professional development and training for educators who will begin performing literacy screenings on students starting in 2025. The budget will also grant $35 million for schools to train staff to address behavioral concerns amongst their students.
