Press

May 27, 2008: Officials fear enrollment could fall as California college costs rise (The Modesto Bee)
The bleak economy and state budget cuts are sketching a grim picture for college students.

Apr 9, 2008: Legislature responds to students, discusses tuition woes (Humboldt State The Lumberjack)
As students across California gather signatures for the student-led ballot initiative Tuition Relief Now, an identical bill is making its way through the Legislature.

Apr 7, 2008: Coalition takes it to the Capitol to fight tuition increases (Long Beach State Daily 49er)
Student and parent volunteers at 30 California State University and University of California campuses are coming together to push Assembly Bill 2372, the College Affordability Act of 2008.

Apr 2, 2008: Tuition freeze bill survives committee (Cal State Chico The Orion)
A bill aimed at keeping college costs down is making its way through the Capitol.

Apr 2, 2008: Fees spark outcry (San Jose State Spartan Daily)
Some students seeking lower tuition are attacking the problem on two different fronts - in Sacramento and on the streets.

Mar 26, 2008: Tuition Relief Now hopes to freeze rising costs (Humboldt State The Lumberjack)
Every week, Mathew Herrera commits 20 hours of his own time to gather signatures on campus and around his community for the student-led Tuition Relief Now campaign.

Mar 20, 2008: UC regents to consider 10% increase in student fees to offset budget cuts (San Diego Union Tribune)
Making the level of cuts recommended by the governor would be devastating to the university system and the state, said Wyatt R. Hume, UC provost and chief operating officer.

Mar 12, 2008: Rising tuition costs push for state ballot initiative (CSU Stanislaus The Signal)
So what do you get when a couple of California college students are sick of rising tuition costs within the University of California and California State University systems? Why a ballot initiative of course.

Mar 10, 2008: Out of Reach (UCSC City on a Hill Press)
“The two governing boards reaffirm the long-established principle that state colleges and the University of California shall be tuition-free to all residents of the state.”

Feb 27, 2008: Initiative aims to freeze tuition hikes (Chico State Orion)
Junior Julia Murphy knows what it's like for college costs to get in the way of a dream. A "hiccup" away from getting a degree in fine arts, she switched to a major in environmental policy and administration because her debt means she'll need a better paying job, she said.

Feb 21, 2008: Local students help petition to freeze rises in tuition (The Eureka Reporter)
Humboldt State social work student Linda Souza knows what it takes to make political change.

Feb 19, 2008: Students Lead Charge for Tuition Relief (UCSD Guardian)
With undergraduate fees increasing by 94 percent over the past six years, the first student-led ballot initiative proposes a five-year freeze on hiking tuition costs at the University of California and California State University institutions for resident undergraduate students.

Feb 14, 2008: Signatures wanted for tuition relief petition - now (CSU Long Beach Daily 49er)
If the petition to freeze state tuition can get enough signatures, it may be placed on the California November election ballot.

Feb 14, 2008: Students fight fee increases (UCLA Daily Bruin)
Students in bright yellow T-shirts etched with “Tuition Relief Now” are working to alleviate the rising fees of the University of California and the California State University system by gathering signatures for a referendum.

Feb 12, 2008: Halting California Tuition Hikes (Monthly Review Magazine)
Making ends meet is a fight for Valencia Henley, an ethnic studies major graduating from California State University, Sacramento this spring.

Feb 11, 2008: Groups work for tuition relief (CSU Fresno Collegian)
“We want the politicians to know that many of the same 434,000 people who signed this ballot were the ones who were working to get it passed,” Rashid said.

Feb 10, 2008: Measure would suspend increase in college costs (San Diego union Tribune)
Only two years into college, Juan Vazquez is already swimming in debt. At 19, the cultural-studies major at UCSD owes $30,000 in loans.

Feb 8, 2008: Historic CA Ballot Initiative Will Freeze CA Tuition at UCs and CSUs for Five Years (Indy Bay)
This campaign is the first student-led and volunteer-staffed ballot initiative in CA's history.

Feb 8, 2008: Tuition freeze coming? (The Daily Aztec)
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is calling for major tuition hikes to help ease California's fiscal crisis, but students in both the University of California and the California State University systems aren't going to let that happen without a fight.

Jan 31, 2008: Freeze, fees! Students push a ballot initiative to stop tuition hikes at state universities (Chico News and Review)
Murphy is gathering volunteers and signatures to help Tuition Relief Now pass California’s first student-led ballot measure, which would effectively put a stop to tuition hikes.

Jan 24, 2008: Californians Demand: Tuition Relief Now! (Idealist)
One of the barriers to graduates considering nonprofit work is the reality of ever-increasing student debt. There are many efforts to address this problem, and one that is attracting national attention is a grassroots state-wide campaign called Tuition Relief Now! This California-based initiative has students, parents, and community members working together to pass a statewide ballot initiative to make the University of California and California State University more affordable.

Jan 24, 2008: Fees don’t fail me now: Students turn to ballot box to stop rising state-university tuitions (Sacramento News & Review)
“Each semester I have faced being kicked out of classes due not to my grades, but to being late paying student fees,” she said. “At times my professors have let me stay in their classes until I can pay. Many of my friends are also struggling this way.”

Jan 22, 2008: College students urged by Garamendi to protest cuts (San Diego Union Tribune)
Year after year it's the same story. The state can't balance its budget, extreme cuts to education are proposed, and college students protest about higher fees being the Band-Aid for the deficit.

Jan 21, 2008: Budget squeeze falls unfairly on state's higher education (San Jose Mercury News)
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's budget calls for 10 percent cuts in spending for higher education in a year during which one of the largest classes in California history graduates from high school. That is not just bad timing; it is bad policy. It will deny entrance to college for thousands of students, prolong college for thousands of others, and likely lead to increased fees for all four-year college students.

Jan 18, 2008: UC's money troubles may turn away students this fall (San Francisco Chronicle)
The University of California may have to consider turning away thousands of eligible student this fall because of expected cuts in revenue caused by the state's $14.5 billion budget deficit, the UC Board of Regents was told today.

Jan 11, 2008: Bad news for state's universities: Fee increases, fewer students seen as likely effects of lean budget (Inside Bay Area)
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's budget-balancing act unveiled Thursday would chop $1.1 billion from California's public colleges and universities and could force the schools to raise fees more than expected while lowering enrollment.

Jan 2, 2008: The elusive education: Students fight back (East Bay Express)
The cost of attending a school in the University of California or California State University systems has risen inexorably recently, with tuition nearly doubling in just the past six years. With fees outpacing both inflation and financial aid, even students from middle-class families are struggling to obtain bachelor's degrees.

Dec 12, 2007: Tuition Relief Now! (Redwood Musings)
Are you tired of the rapid increase in California University tuition costs?

Dec 11, 2007: Students demand tuition relief (The Modesto Bee)
After seeing their tuition and fees at the state's public colleges increase nearly 100 percent over five years, students are leading an effort to freeze tuition.

Dec 7, 2007: Californians scramble to keep college affordable (New America Media)
As tuition hikes at California State University and University of California institutions have nearly doubled within the last six years, college affordability and accessibility has never been more of a major issue for students.

Dec 5, 2007: Students and parents push to limit college fee increases (The LumberJack)
A group of students, parents and concerned Californians aim to stop the rising college tuition in California.

Dec 5, 2007: Group fights for fee freeze: Initiative to alleviate student costs could be put on 2008 ballot (The State Hornet)
In the spirit of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's "year of education" taking place next year, a group in California is making sure that education, more specifically the cost of it, is made a priority in 2008.

Dec 4, 2007: Tuition hikes no good for enrollment rates (The State Hornet)
It's that time of the year again. As the old semester fades away in a smog of final projects and exams, the new semester is already on the horizon. The new semester means hope and promise for some. And for everyone, it certainly means one thing: paying tuition.

Dec 3, 2007: "Bang for Buck" tuition re-evaluated (Union Weekly)
Here’s a fact: CSU tuition has doubled in the past six years. It seems unlikely that a heralded institution like the CSU, often dubbed an affordable system or a “best bang for your buck” type bargain, would have this sort of stat looming over its budget— or the fact that we are a public institution set upon providing Californians with higher education at an affordable rate.

Dec 3, 2007: Tuition relief a student concern (The Daily Titan)
Political science major Caitlyn Whitney thinks it's a disgrace that students cannot afford college.

Nov 29, 2007: Proposed ballot measure would freeze student fees (The Pioneer )
A potential freeze on student tuition could be the result of a new proposition by Students and Families for Tuition Relief Now, a non-profit organization supported by the Greenlining Institute.

Nov 29, 2007: Students fight ever-mounting fee hikes (The Golden Gate [X]Press)
Students fighting the rising cost of public higher education filed a ballot initiative with the state attorney general to freeze mandatory resident undergraduate fees in the California State University and University of California systems.

Nov 28, 2007: CSULB students voice opposition to rising tuition costs (Daily 49er)
Students of the California public higher education system may be facing yet another fee increase.

Nov 28, 2007: Our View - Student-led initiative to fight fee hikes (Daily 49er)
A California State University student seeking tuition relief these days stands about as much of a chance at surviving as a soccer mom trying to gas up the old minivan at a crack house.

Nov 28, 2007: Students fight to freeze rising tuition rates (Mustang Daily)
Cal Poly tuition rates rose 7 percent for all majors this year from 2006-07. Over the past six years at UC and CSU campuses, tuition has nearly doubled.

Nov 27, 2007: Students lead push to halt fee hikes (Spartan Daily)
California's first ever student-led ballot initiative under the Tuition Relief Now campaign was filed with the Attorney General on Nov. 14.

Nov 27, 2007: The trouble with rising tuition and fees (The Daily Illini)
During our fall break, the student newspaper at the University of California-Davis ran a report detailing a brand new effort by a group of students, parents and activists to place a statewide referendum on the 2008 ballot that among other things would restrict raises in mandatory student fees. Whether or not their proposals are politically viable, this grassroots effort is to be applauded.

Nov 23, 2007: UC, Cal State students seek tuition relief: Local college students join signature-gathering effort for student-sponsored ballot measure. (OC Register)
IRVINE UCI freshman Andres Gonzalez is active in student government, but at night, he goes back to his family's home in Costa Mesa.

Nov 21, 2007: Higher education tuitions rise as students struggle (ABC 7 News)
Nov. 21, 2007 (KGO) - Cal State Senior Valencia Henley works two jobs and can barely afford the annual tuition increases.

Nov 21, 2007: Student-led campaign seeks to freeze UC, CSU tuition fees: 434,000 signatures needed for initiative to make November 2008 ballot (The California Aggie)
Tuition Relief Now filed California's first student-led ballot initiative with the state attorney general on Nov. 14 in an effort to freeze University of California and California State University tuition fees.

Nov 21, 2007: Garamendi calls for fee caps (The Daily Aztec)
With student fee increases each year, tuition at University of California and California State University campuses has almost doubled in the past six years, threatening to make higher education a luxury in the state.

Nov 20, 2007: Calif. students take tuition issues to ballot (The Daily Tarheel)
University students in California are taking the tuition war into their own hands.

Nov 20, 2007: Taking Up the Fight: Tuition Relief Now, a ballot initiative aimed at freezing tuition, picks up the slack of existing institutions (The Daily Californian)
Something to be excited about: A campaign wants to freeze current UC and Cal State resident undergraduate tuition for the next five years.

Nov 19, 2007: Lt. Gov. calls for fee caps (New University, University of California, Irvine)
As gas prices rise, Southern California’s housing bubble bursts and the holiday shopping season rapidly approaches, UC Irvine students are feeling the pinch—especially when it comes to tuition.

Nov 19, 2007: Regents’ budget plan could raise tuition: UC Board of Regents approves budget that relies on $70.5-million state grant to avoid increase in student fees (The Guardian, University of California, San Diego)
The UC Board of Regents approved its 2008-09 budget plan last week, which could potentially open the door for a significant hike in student fees over a multiyear period.

Nov 17, 2007: Students call for fee freeze (Vallejo Times-Herald)
Students fed up with rising tuition at public universities have filed a ballot initiative to freeze fees at University of California and California State University campuses.

Nov 16, 2007: How many students does it take to stop the California fee hikes? (California Progress Report)
These days the price of gasoline is about the only thing that rises as fast as the price of tuition.

Nov 16, 2007: Student coalition pushes for UC/CSU freeze (The Daily Californian)
Students and their families took a step Wednesday toward increasing college affordability by filing California’s first student-led ballot initiative to freeze public university fees.

Nov 14, 2007: Press Release November 14, 2007
Berkeley, CA – Today, students and families took a dramatic step toward college affordability by filing California’s first-ever student-led ballot initiative with the Attorney General.

Nov 14, 2007: California students attempting tuition-freeze ballot initiative (Chronicle of Higher Education )
California students are hoping to put what they claim is the first student-led ballot initiative before voters in 2008 after they filed the initiative today with the state’s attorney general.

Nov 14, 2007: CA students file ballot initiative to freeze tuition (Campus Progress)
California students today filed an unprecedented ballot initiative with the Attorney General that would freeze tuition increases at University of California and California State University schools for five years, and to tie tuition increases to the price of inflation after the freeze expires.

Nov 7, 2007: Campaign moves to stop college tution hikes: Goal to put intiative on Nov. 2008 state ballot (The lumberJACK: the student-run newspaper of Humboldt State University)
A group of students, parents and concerned Californians will aim to stop rising college tuition in California.

Nov 1, 2007: Commit to education (Contra Costa Times)
A survey released today shows that Californians understand the importance of our public universities and worry that cost is keeping youngsters from a college education. It's time for leaders in Sacramento to get the message.

Nov 1, 2007: Poll finds college fee hikes worry Californians (Inside Bay Area)
Californians are more worried than ever about rising college costs, according to a statewide survey.

Nov 1, 2007: Californians worried about rising cost of college (Sacbee.com)
Californians place a higher value on a college education than do Americans from other states, but many also have a sense that their children will not be accepted to a university or be able to afford it even if they are invited to enroll, according to a new statewide survey to be released today.

Oct 31, 2007: Poll: Many Californians believe college is key, but out of reach (Sign On San Diego)
Many Californians believe a college education is key but consider it out of reach, a new poll says.

Oct 26, 2008: New law curbs credit card marketing to college students (The Collegian)

The business of offering credit cards to students just got a little harder with the signing of a new law that slaps a number of restrictions on credit card solicitors.

Oct 15, 2007: ON CALIFORNIA'S PRIORITIES: Privatize UC to balance the state budget? Undermine UC, undermine California's future (San Francisco Chronicle - B5)
Even before next year's state budget shortfall was estimated at $8.6 billion, I began to hear the budget ax yet again taking aim at California's students.

Oct 12, 2007: 'This is for everybody' (The Collegian)
Despite the name, Fresno State’s first Chicano-Latino Issues Forum isn’t just intended to address problems Chicanos and Latinos face. It’s meant for everyone on campus.

Oct 4, 2007: Suit claims CSU officials' retroactive pay hikes are illegal (SFGate)
Two taxpayers sued the California State University system on Wednesday, asserting that retroactive pay handed out recently to 26 top executives amounts to more than $100,000 in illegal gifts of public funds.

Oct 3, 2007: Extra compensation to UC employees jumps $59 million (San Francisco Chronicle - B3)
Extra compensation paid to University of California employees has risen to $975 million, a $59 million increase during the fiscal year that ended on June 30, according to figures released Tuesday.

Oct 2, 2007: Selling students into credit-card debt (Business Week)

Lawmakers target credit-card issuers that appeal to college students with gifts and prizes, but universities' lucrative affinity deals evade regulation

Sep 30, 2007: High-priced student loans spell trouble (The Huffington Post)
The near doubling in the cost of a college degree the past decade has produced an explosion in high-priced student loans that could haunt the U.S. economy for years.

Sep 26, 2007: Bill Banning Credit Card Gifts at Colleges Passes in California (American Banker)

Lawmakers [in California] have passed legislation, which Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to sign, that would prohibit card companies from awarding gifts, such as pizza, T-shirts, and stuffed animals, to students who complete card applications.

Sep 21, 2007: Regents approve major fee hikes for 34 UC programs (Los Angeles Times)
DAVIS, Calif. -- The University of California Board of Regents approved a three-year plan Thursday for major fee increases at 34 professional schools that would push the cost of some law and business schools to $40,000 a year by 2010.

Sep 21, 2007: Higher pay = higher costs: UC regents raise salaries, student fees (San Francisco Chronicle)
In the more controversial of the two actions, the regents' decision to raise professional school fees would result, in some cases, in significant differences in the amounts charged at each campus, with some costing more than $40,000 a year.

Sep 20, 2007: High school, UC diversity gap grows (San Francisco Chronicle )
The gap between the diversity of students at the University of California and that of state high school graduates has risen to its highest level in nearly 20 years, and action must be taken, UC's governing board of regents declared yesterday.

Sep 20, 2007: Cal State trustees approve executive raises (Los Angeles Times)
Despite protests from faculty, students and state officials, trustees of the Cal State University on Wednesday awarded pay increases to 26 top administrators and campus presidents that averaged nearly 12% and in some cases amounted to raises of more than $44,000 a year.

Sep 6, 2007: The dirty secret of campus credit cards (Business Week)

Issued under affinity contracts, they represent sweetheart deals between card companies and the colleges. It's the students who pay the price

May 21, 2007: Prisons' budget to trump colleges': No other big state spends as much to incarcerate compared with higher education funding (San Francisco Chronicle - A1)
As the costs for fixing the state's troubled corrections system rocket higher, California is headed for a dubious milestone -- for the first time the state will spend more on incarcerating inmates than on educating students in its public universities.

Apr 2, 2007: Inquiry into student loans is resolved (New York Times)

Citibank, one of the largest providers of student loans, and five universities have agreed to pay a total of $5.2 million to resolve an investigation into their student loan practices…

March 19, 2007: Proposed law aims to set guidelines for textbooks (The Daily Bruin)

Due to concerns over high textbook prices and a recent report released by student public interest groups nationwide about publishers’ pricing tactics, lawmakers introduced the College Textbook Affordability Act to the California Legislature last week.

Mar 8, 2007: We are a credit card nation (Washington Post)

What is the fate of our nation as we continue to accrue more and more credit?

March 28, 2007: Textbook bill on assembly agenda (The Orion)

A bill that would require book publishers to disclose information about textbooks was introduced to the state's higher education committee Tuesday.