Uphill hike

Students at Chico State will face another fee hike in the fall, thanks to a recent action by the CSU Board of Trustees. On June 18, trustees voted for a $204 (5 percent) hike for full-time resident undergraduates for the coming academic year, bringing tuition up to $4,230 per year. Full-time resident graduate students will have to swallow a $252 fee increase.

In a time of more money for fewer classes and services, it’s a bitter pill to swallow. But CSU Chancellor Charles Reed pointed out that if fees were not raised, more faculty and staff layoffs would have to occur. Another 5 percent hike may be necessary at the board’s November meeting if a proposal in the California Assembly to give the university system $50 million in extra state funding fails.