The UC Board of Regents voted to increase student fees for the 2006-07 year, responding to both funding needs of new programs under the proposed UC budget as well as dwindling state support for the 10-campus system, according to Ravi Poorsina, spokeswoman for the UC Office of the President.
“Student fees have increased at UC in recent years in direct response to the decline in state support for public higher education,” Poorsina said.
Since 2000, California lawmakers have reduced funding for the UC system by 15 percent, according to Poorsina.
Although the budget passed, including the fee increases, it was clear from discussion at the meeting that the regents were not enthusiastic about the possibility of raising fees. Regent George Marcus proposed an amendment to the budget eliminating fee increases for graduate students, necessary, he said, if California is to attract the best and the brightest. The motion failed by a close vote of 10-9.
Another proposed motion, which failed by a similarly small margin of 11-8, would have postponed the vote on whether or not to increase fees until the regents’ January meeting. Instead of delaying the vote on increasing fees, the board instead voted, by a margin of 17-2, in favor of adding an additional part to the budget. This provison states that should the governor’s budget provide adequate funding, the proposed fee increase will be reduced or eliminated, depending on how much money the governor is willing to allocate to the university.
The 8-percent increase will boost fees by $492 per year, bringing the systemwide total to $6,633 per year. Additional fees charged by individual campuses bring the total average tuition to an estimated $7,294 per year, according to Poorsina.
Meanwhile, graduate students stand to have their fees increased by 10 percent, raising costs to $7,587. The number is further increased to an average of $9,398 per year, taking into account the miscellaneous fees charged by individual campuses, Poorsina said.
The UC budget includes a number of new proposals and programs to be implemented, each requiring that some of the funding be provided by fee increases. These include improvements in student-to-faculty ratio, as well as salary increases for UC faculty and staff, Poorsina said.
“We still have serious ongoing funding gaps,” UC President Robert C. Dynes stated in a press release. “Make no mistake: This university’s quality, and the magnitude of this university’s contribution to California, are still at risk today.”
Despite these fee increases, California still holds a high position compared to other public university systems in providing affordable higher education. After the increases, UC fees will still remain an estimated $900 per year below the average cost of other public universities, according to Poorsina.
“Increases in student fees are necessary to preserve the quality of the student educational experience,” Poorsina said.
Student response to the fee increases have been far from positive, with a number of UCSD students, which was coordinated by A.S. Vice President External Samanatha Peterson, traveling to the Nov. 17 Berkeley meeting to protest the fee increases.
Student groups are still disputing the fee hikes, including the University of California Students Association, which spearheaded a “March to Stop the Fee Hikes” at UC Berkeley.
In order to cope with predicted fee increases, the university is also considering increases to funding of financial aid programs. The aid would account for 33 percent of the new revenues generated by the increases in student fees, according to Poorsina.
“This proposal, in conjunction with the Cal Grant program, would provide enough additional funding to provide for the UC’s eligible students,” Poorsina said.
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