No Tuition Breaks For Cal State Students Even As University Stays Online For Fall

Students in the 23-campus California State University system will not pay less in the fall semester even though their classes will remain online, Chancellor Timothy White said today on KPCC's AirTalk.

"Our tuition and mandatory fees will remain," White said in response to a listener call. "We are keeping our employees. Our cost drivers aren't going down. In fact, they're actually going up with respect to the cost of delivery, with the added technology we need to purchase, the added training we need to do."

Some Cal State students have already gone to court over money they've paid as the university has moved learning online.

Students filed a class-action lawsuit against the Cal State and University of California systems, seeking refunds of mandatory fees such as health center fees. Their lawsuit alleges students are not benefitting from those services because the campuses have been shut down.

White said on AirTalk that health service centers are still open and other services continue to be available online, and that students will continue to receive a quality education:

There will still be some in-person classes for courses that require hands-on experience, such as life sciences, physical sciences, agriculture, engineering, architecture and nursing. White said in those cases, class sizes will be reduced and other measures will be taken to keep students and faculty safe.

"Instead of having 15 to 20 students in one of those [nursing] sessions in the fall, it's going to be five," White said.

White also said students on athletic scholarships will not see their education disrupted although sports activities have been shut down. Listen to the full interview with Larry Mantle below:

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