CSU System Weighs Tuition Hikes Amid Budget Crisis

The salaries of new would be frozen at the level of their predecessors under a policy approved by a CSU Board of Trustees committee Tuesday, but private foundations would be permitted to raise funds on their own to increase the compensation by up to 10 percent.

At the same time,  documents posted online ahead of next week's UC Board of Regents meeting  show that UC students in the 10-campus system could see their tuiton raised by 6 percent this fall if the state doesn't increase funding by $125 million for 2012-13, according to a report by the Associated Press.

“We’re at a critical stage at the university. The regents would face more draconian choices if the governor’s initiative fails,” Patrick Lenz, vice president for budget and capital resources, told The Associated Press in an interview.

UC Board members are scheduled to meet and discuss ways to raise revenue and cut costs when they meet in Sacramento on May 16. However, no action on tuition changes is anticipated until July.

During Tuesday's CSU Board of Trustees committee meeting, salary was approved unanimously by the board's Special Committee on Presidential Selection and Compensation Policy, despite protests being staged outside the meeting by students, teachers and others who said all money -- even private dollars -- should be used to reduce tuition or increase teacher salaries, not paying executives.

The full board will consider the proposal tomorrow. During the committee meeting, members insisted that they were freezing presidential salaries, since no additional tax money would be put toward compensation. Donations from private foundations to supplement salaries would be voluntary and decided upon at the campus-level, and there was no guarantee such supplements would be offered, committee members said.The policy indicates that such salary boosts offered by private foundations could be provided "to retain the best leader.''

Opponents, however, said the policy is just another way to bolster executives' salaries.``As I said last week when the chancellor proposed this new policy, it is nothing more than smoke and mirrors disguised as reform,'' said Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco. ``Today's action ... only further solidifies the fact that they are more committed to their executives than California students and families.''

Both the UC and California State University systems would each lose an additional $200 million if Governor Jerry Brown's tax initiative is not approved, according to the San Franciso Chronicle.

-City  News Service and the Associated Press contributed to this report.