The cost of a college education has increased steadily, and heavily, over the past decade. And with fees skyrocketing, undergraduates and graduate students are scraping the barrel to pay tuition.

In recent months, California legislature has made repeated cuts to funding for higher education. The cutbacks are a huge blow considering most colleges gets the majority of their funds from the state, or from student tuition.

To offset a multi-billion dollar state budget deficit, the legislature reduced system funding, leaving a $584 million revenue shortfall.

At Fresno State, student fees have risen 30 percent since May to nearly $5,000 for full-time undergraduate students.

The more than 450,000 students across the 23 CSU campuses have felt the pinch of cost-cutting measure and the rising sticker-price for a college education. However, the CSU remains one of the most affordable public university systems in the nation.

At some colleges throughout the country, the cost of education has exceeded $50,000 per year —including room and board.

Public state universities have long been the low-cost alternative to expensive universities, but now state schools face a major fiscal crunch.

In the past, both the UC and CSU have bucked the national trend of increased tuition, as state funding kept fees steady. However, recent cuts have forced a 32 percent increase — well above the national average for state-supported campuses.

Even still, public colleges boast the best value in college education. On average, the total tuition for a university in the CSU system reaches $4,026 compared to the average $6,585 at four-year colleges and the $25,143 at private universities.

The most expensive college in the CSU is California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo which charges a tuition fee of $6,498.
The least expensive college in the system is California State University, Long Beach with $4,370 in tuition fees.

Here’s a list of tuition prices at public and private universities from 2008 compiled by Forbes Magazine in conjunction with The Chronicle of Higher Education.

The Collegian