Fee Increase for Self-Support PaCE Programs

Sent: March 1, 2024

From: Vincent J. Del Casino, Jr., Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs

Dear Colleagues,

San José State University educates more students than any other campus in the CSU through its Professional and Continuing Education (PaCE) programs. These programs meet market demands, while also providing an array of educational opportunities for California’s students. Put another way, they are designed to “meet students where they are” be that online or face-to-face. 

As the name implies, these programs are distinct from most programs on campus in that they are not supported by the State’s general fund and, as such, they must meet their costs through a fee-setting process. SJSU’s goal in setting fees is to maintain quality and affordability while also covering all programmatic costs; we must meet the rising expenses tied to quality education. Our annual operating expenses are not currently breaking-even at the institutional level. We must therefore increase fees for these programs to support increased contractual salary and benefit costs as well as the inflationary impact on other operational costs.

Effective Fall 2024 - fees for all PaCE programs (with a few exceptions noted here) will increase by three percent (3%). Subsequently, we will increase tuition fees for all PaCE programs by five percent (5%) per year starting with the academic year 2025-26 and will span through 2028-2029. These increases largely align with the recent stateside tuition increase. A list of self-support PaCE programs with per unit fees and total program costs spanning from the academic year 2024-25 through 2028-2029 is available here. The proposed multi-year increase will provide tuition stability and predictability for students and allow the university to more effectively manage economic change over time.  

We are very mindful of the impact of these fee increases on our students. As such, we are also expanding scholarships to help offset a portion of increased costs. Program leaders should work with your college Dean’s office to establish PaCE scholarship pathways.

As a reminder, in accordance with Executive Order 1102, the campus president is delegated authority for the establishment of Category V fees (self-support fees), after consideration of revenue and expenditure statements reviewed and approved by the campus chief financial officer. A formal review and approval of the fees is expected by March 31, 2024.

Sincerely,
Vin