The finance committee of the Board of Regents deadlocked on a vote to ratify fee increases proposed in the compact reached by UC President Robert C. Dynes, CSU Chancellor Charles B. Reed and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The compact proposes a 14-percent increase for in-state undergraduates and a 20-percent increase for graduate students for the 2005-06 academic year.
After hearing remarks by Dynes and a presentation by UC Vice President for Budget Larry Hirschman, the committee voted 5-5 on the proposal. The full Board of Regents will consider the proposal on May 20.
The compact must be approved by the California Legislature as part of the annual state budget. According to Hirschman, the compact acts as the foundation for future state allocations to higher education. Historically, the Legislature has augmented compacts with additional funding. According to Hirschman, some Democrats in the state assembly are discussing a $225-million increase in funding to the University of California in addition to the funds provided in the compact.
“If you take a look at all of their actions, in our case they appear to be headed toward an augmentation of $225 million and a total augmentation for higher education of $500 million … that’s a very substantial amount of money,” Hirschman said. “We don’t know what the Senate wants to do yet, but they’re likely to also be augmenting the budget, and we don’t know what the governor is going to do. He is going to end up negotiating the budget with the Legislature.”
Dynes, who negotiated the compact, believes that the proposal would help give the university funding stability in future years.
“In my view, it stops the bleeding in future years and allows us to do some recovery on important issues like student-to-faculty ratio, faculty and staff salaries and some infrastructure issues and deferred maintenance; places where we are seriously in trouble right now,” Dynes said. “It does promise more for the future — it does not give us everything we need for the future, and certainly this year will continue to be a painful year — but at least it is a baseline plan and at least it is a positive plan.”
However, some Regents believe that agreeing to a compact now would compromise support for increased funding for the university in the state Legislature.
“I think that … the certainty and stability that this compact brings is deeply in question,” said Regent Fabian Núñez, who is also the speaker of the California State Assembly. “I say that with no offense to President Dynes, because I think he has done the very best job that he possibly could to negotiate the best deal given the circumstances. Does it weaken our position? My view is that it takes the wind out from under the sails of those in the Legislature who are looking to more adequately fund higher education.”
Student Regent Matt Murray, who also opposed the proposal, raised concerns that the agreement would also stifle lobbying efforts for better funding.
“We’ve started a great advocacy campaign in this university,” Murray said. “Our alumni, our students, our administration have been … working together in Sacramento amazingly this year. I would hate to see that pulled back because of the delicacy of the negotiations.”
UC Student Association Chair Matt Kaczmarek, who addressed the Regents during the public comment period, opposed the compact, saying that the agreement did not sufficiently address accessibility to the university, student fees or financial aid.
“For the thousands of students who have worked hard for 12 or more years to become UC-eligible, but were not admitted this year, this compact was simply a public acknowledgment that the governor and the University of California have together failed the people of California,” Kaczmarek said.
For more information on the Regents meeting, which continues on May 19, visit http://www.universityofcalifornia.com/regents/regmeet/may04.html. Open sessions of the Board of Regents are broadcast live on the Web site.
