University of California undergraduates will likely face
another set of fee increases next year following Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s
Jan. 10 announcement of his 2008-09 budget. Schwarzenegger’s budget proposal
addressed the state’s projected $14.5-billion deficit, calling for 10-percent
cuts in funding to nearly all state-funded departments and programs in order to
combat the declared fiscal emergency.
Under Schwarzenegger’s proposal, the university would see a
net state funding reduction of nearly $109 million from the current year’s
budget, resulting in a figure that falls $400 million short of the amount
requested by the UC Board of Regents in its 2008-09 budget proposal. Of that
shortfall, Schwarzenegger’s proposal
calls for $70 million to be met by increases in mandatory student fees,
including a 7-percent increase in the Educational Fee and a 10-percent increase
in the Registration Fee. An additional 10 percent of the reduction is to be
taken from administrative spending.
Schwarzenegger’s budget states that the remainder of the
reduction would be unallocated, allowing the Regents flexibility in deciding
where necessary cuts would be made, a suggestion designed to minimize the
impact of the cutbacks on core instructional programs.
In a Jan. 11 statement released by the UC Office of the
President, spokesman Ricardo Vasquez indicated that, in addition to fee
increases, the regents may address the cutbacks through limitations on future
enrollment and funding reductions to a number of existing research and student
service programs, among others.
UC President Robert C. Dynes also commented on
Schwarzenegger’s proposal in the statement, expressing concern at the prospect of drastic cutbacks.
“This budget proposal will have serious impacts on our
ability to deliver on our mission for our students and for the people of
California,” Dynes said. “State funding for the university is not an
expenditure but an investment — an investment that produces real returns
through an educated workforce, a dynamic economy, job creation and new tax
revenue.”
Additionally, Dynes said that attempts would be made to
lessen the severity of the impending funding deficit.
“We appreciate the magnitude of the state’s current budget
problem, and we intend to examine this proposal closely in consultation with
the regents, beginning at their January meeting,” Dynes said. “And then we
intend to work energetically with the governor and Legislature in the coming
months to minimize the impact, to the greatest extent possible, on the quality,
affordability and public benefit of the university’s programs.”
UC Student Association President and UC Riverside graduate
student Louise Hendrickson addressed Schwarzenegger’s budget proposal in a
teleconference last week, articulating her disappointment at the prospect of
further student fee increases.
“When fees rise, qualified and hard-working students are
blocked from attending the University of California,” Hendrickson said.
“Already fees have risen faster than the average income of hard working
Californians.”
Hendrickson said that her own financial woes illustrate the
problems faced by many UC students today.
“I’ve already had to torch one quarter of classes on a
credit card because of last year’s fee increases and I’m over $130,000 in
debt,” Hendrickson said. “I chose to attend a UC because of its excellence in
education but also because it was a state school and I could afford it. This is
quickly no longer being the case.”
Schwarzenegger’s budget will be reviewed by the state
Legislature in the coming months, during which time legislators will suggest
changes to the proposal until a final decision is reached.
The regents are not expected to take any action regarding
budget decisions or set student fee increases until later this year.
