CSU Must Choose Tuition Hike Or Enrollment Cut

California State University is facing the bleak choice of either raising tuition or shrinking enrollment if voters reject tax increase measures on the November ballot and a $250 million funding cut goes into effect, officials said Monday. Assistant Vice Chancellor Robert Turnage said the board of trustees will discuss two scenarios at its meeting Tuesday and adopt a plan in September in order to be prepared for the possibility of a loss in funds midway through the academic year. "The easy choices are gone so the $250 million trigger cut poses a huge challenge," Turnage told reporters on a conference call. "We have reached a point where it's nothing but difficult trade-offs." CSU is one of the nation's largest public university systems with 23 campuses that serve some 400,000 students. Since 2007-08, it has lost $1 billion, or 39 percent of its state funding.