Matadors, over the next four years you’ll have an opportunity to set a grander table.
In Spring 2019, CSUN students voted in a referendum to approve a USU fee increase of $125 per semester to build and operate a new USU building and renovate existing USU facilities. The fee would take effect the academic year the new building opened and would increase by $3 each fall and spring semester ($1.80 during the summer) to account for inflation.
Dubbed the New Heart of Campus, the project progressed through various design stages with extensive input from campus and USU stakeholders and the USU Board of Directors (BOD) following the students’ referendum approval. In Fall 2022, the USU BOD authorized the project committee to re-imagine the project due to budget projections that exceeded the original allocated project budget of $130 million. Significant external factors that affected the project included:
- Unprecedented and continual increases in construction costs because of the COVID-19 pandemic
- Declining enrollment in colleges and universities nationwide, specifically at CSUN
- Increased financial interest rates due to rising economic inflation
The USU is committed to providing students with expanded and modernized offerings to deliver on the primary goals of the 2019 student fee referendum.
USU Future Plans
- Valera NEST
- Enhanced Programmable Event Spaces
- Renovated Facilities
- Centralized Resource Center (RISE Center Concept)
- Indoor Lounge Spaces
- Additional seating with device charging
- Shaded Outdoor Seating Spaces
- Enhanced Food Options
- Integrated Plaza with Indoor and Outdoor Features
The USU will apply the $125 per semester fee increase over four years instead of taking place all at once, providing a manageable fee increase schedule for students and adhering to the precedents leading up to the 2006 USU Renovation and the opening of the Student Recreation Center in 2012.
-
2024-25
- Valera NEST breaks ground and construction begins
$326/semester
-
2025-26
- Valera NEST Opens!
- Architectural design begins on other enhancements and renovations
$363/semester (+$5 Inflation Factor) (+$31.25)
-
2026-27
- Renovations begin construction
$399/semester (+$5 Inflation Factor) (+$31.25)
-
2027-28
- Initial renovations open
$435/semester (+$5 Inflation Factor) (+$31.25)
-
2028-29
- All renovations complete!
$474/semester (+$8 Inflation Factor) (+$31.25)
$32 + $31 + $31 + $31 = $125
Once the $125 is reached, an additional $3 fee increase will be applied to fall and spring semester fees (60% for summer) for inflation.