In response to a $42 million dollar state budget cut, the University of California Board of Regents has raised fees to select professional schools for 2005-06 by 7 percent.
Despite four professional schools on campus, UCSD remains largely unaffected by the increase. The Skaggs School of Pharmacy is the only graduate school to raise its prices, with 2005-06 tuition increasing an additional $500.
The new increase raises graduate school tuition as much as 10 percent at some schools, when combined with increases passed in 2004. At schools affected by this proposal, the tuition hikes range from as little as $136 to $776. Along with their decision, the regents passed further “temporary” increases for the 2006-07 school year designed to help alleviate the funding gap created by budget alterations.
The vote, originally scheduled for May, was deferred until August due to the absence of several regents. Regents, faculty and students at the May meeting reached an impasse debating the necessity, implementation and impact of the fees on both professional students and faculty in the upcoming year.
“We need the ability to keep those fees to finance the programs that will help us strive for excellence,” UCLA Anderson School of Management Dean Bruce Willison said.
Although close to 95 percent of Skaggs’ students are on financial aid, Associate Dean Anthony Manoguerra said he is “hopeful” that the increase will not adversely affect the accessibility of the school to students. According to the University of California Office of the President’s proposal, 25 percent of money raised by the additional fees will be earmarked for students in need of financial aid.
The implementation of these fees “[varies] by school, campus and residency status, depending on the financial needs and market competitiveness factors of the individual professional school,” said UCOP spokeswoman Ravi Poorsina.
In addition to the 7 percent increase at their August meeting, the regents approved furthur fee increases, including a temporary professional school fee increase of $1,050, beginning in winter quarter 2006 and ending at the end of the 2007 school year. Students at UCSD professional schools of pharmacy, management and medicine are all subject to the higher fees.
UCSD’s Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies is exempt from both increases because a previous hike requires students to pay an additional $4,000. However, IR/PS Business Officer John Rowe said he is determined to ensure that fees remain reasonable in comparison to other similar graduate schools.
Although some regents at the May meeting expressed regret at the possibility of further fee increases, others felt them necessary in the face of heavy budget cuts. Regents gave a variety of reasons for the increases, including low tuition levels and professor salaries in comparison to similar universities and the necessity for program funding to retain the university’s reputation.
However, two students have already taken legal action against the university, claiming breach of contract due to the late notice of the fees implementation. The suit, Luquetta v. UC Regents, is the second class action brought in San Francisco Superior Court against the University of California by students concerning fee increases.
In 2003, a group of UC students filed Kashmiri v. Regents, where San Francisco Judge James Warren granted a preliminary injunction stopping additional fees from being collected. Judge Mary Wiss will rule on an adjudication hearing for Luquetta v. UC Regents Oct. 3.
“We do not undertake these additional increases lightly,” UC President Robert C. Dynes stated in a press release. “They are, unfortunately, necessary to sustain the academic program and student financial aid in the wake of the serious budget cuts.”
Rowe expressed similar concerns, saying officials at IR/PS are keeping wary of “the impact of any increases in fees and tuition on our current and prospective students.”
