SF State students come to the One Stop Student Services Center to receive help on issues such as financial aid, tuition and housing costs at SF State, CA August 28, 2023. (Michaela Mateo/ Golden Gate Xpress)

Tuition breakdown of fall semester at SF State

Where does my tuition go? A breakdown of the fees this semester at SFSU.

Daniel Hernandez, Spanish Editor • Aug 28, 2023

California State University estimates that it can cost between $24,000 and $35,000 to study at San Francisco State University this year.

After removing the estimated costs of books, housing, food, transportation and other miscellaneous needs, the academic fee for the year is $7,288, according to SF State’s Bursar’s Office.

Each semester the price of school is divided into two sections: local fees and tuition.

SF State’s tuition for Fall 2023 is $2,871 for students taking more than six units. For the school year, tuition adds up to $5,742.

The combined local fee price of $773 per semester can be broken down into 10 sections: Student Body Center fee, $82; Student Body Association fee (Associated Students), $54; Recreation and Wellness fee, $178; Student Health Service fee, $261; Instructional Related Activities (IRA) general fee, $50; IRA athletics fee, $68; Health Facilities fee, $36; Campus Service Card fee, $2; Gator Pass fee, $40 and the Student Involvement and Representation fee (SIRF), $2.

Student Services welcomes new and continuing students to come and pick up ID’s and pay for classes at the bursar’s window at SF State, CA August 28, 2023. (Michaela Mateo/ Golden Gate Xpress)

The Student Body Center fee pays for the costs of running the Cesar Chavez Student Center. The Student Body Association fee helps cover the cost of running the programs and workers within the building.

“I do know we have about 30ish full-time staff members and a little over 200 student employees,” Iese Esera, chief of staff and chair of Associated Students, said. “That $54 charge from AS goes to paying basically everything for the building, all the programs, all the employee’s salaries and the hourly amount for each student assistant.”

The Recreation and Wellness Center fee covers the operation costs of the Mashouf Wellness Center and the Student Health Services fee pays for the mental health and physical services that SF State offers. There is a separate health facilities fee that covers the building operation costs of the Student Health Services Center.

The IRA general and athletics fees help cover the cost of running the library, extracurricular projects and sports teams.

The campus service card and Gator Pass fees pays for the OneCard program and for the ability to ride MUNI for free and BART at a discount.

Last school year, the price for Gator Pass was $180. However, according to an email sent to Golden Gate Xpress by Bobby King, the director of communications at SF State, the price was reduced to $40 due to a decrease in the amount of students using public transportation in comparison to pre-pandemic levels.

SIRF is the only optional fee. It was established in 2015 to help support the California State Students Association. The CSSA focuses on representing students throughout the CSUs — including during the recent proposed tuition increase.

The CSU Board of Trustees will vote in September on a proposal to raise tuition prices by 6% every year for the next five years.
“Initially, the CSU considered a variety of rate options with increases that ranged anywhere from 3% to 8%,” Hazel Kelly, CSU strategic communications and public affairs manager, said. “But generally they were guided by trying to keep costs as low as possible for students while also balancing the need to raise sufficient revenue.”

About the Contributors

Daniel Hernandez, Spanish Editor

Daniel Hernandez (he/him) is a transfer student from the Inland Empire majoring in bilingual journalism. He also oversees Golden Gate Xpress' Spanish section. His passion for storytelling and journalism started after he bought his first camera six years ago. What began as a fascination for taking photos and videos grew into a passion for multimedia journalism. When he isn't researching for an article or working as the Spanish editor, he explores the Bay Area or falls down a YouTube rabbit hole. Daniel Hernandez (él/ellos) es un estudiante transferido de Inland Empire con especialización en periodismo bilingüe. También es el editor de la sección en español de Golden Gate Xpress. Su pasión por el periodismo comenzó después de que compró su primera cámara hace seis años. Lo que comenzó como una fascinación por tomar fotografías y vídeos se convirtió en una pasión por el periodismo multimedia. Cuando no está investigando para un artículo o trabajando como editor de la sección en español, explora el Área de la Bahía o cae en una madriguera de YouTube.

Michaela Mateo, Visuals Editor

Michaela Gutierrez Mateo (She/Her) is the Golden Gate Xpress Visuals Editor for Fall 2023. Her nickname is Micha, is a 4th year Photojournalism major and an Asian American Studies minor. She is a transfer student from Chabot College, Hayward where she had her first experience as a reporter for The Spectator. Her passion is photography and film but most of all she is a Kdrama and Kpop addict.