The University of California
acquired another financial obligation this week when the California Supreme
Court ruled that it will have to reimburse thousands of professional students a
total of $40 million for tuition fee increases during the 2002-03 school year
that violated the UC Board of Regents’ pledge to keep fees fixed.

Eight UC students filed the class-action lawsuit, Kashmiri
v. Regents of University of California, in San Francisco
in July 2003 on allegations that fees had risen more than twice the amount the
students were promised at the time of their acceptance.

Recipients of the refund include 9,163 law and medical
students who enrolled before 2003, as well as over 30,000 students who enrolled
in the spring or summer of 2003. Lawyers estimated that individual payments
will range from $100 to as much as $10,000.

UC Office of the President spokesman Ricardo Vàzquez said
that the source of the funds has yet to be determined. However, he said that
the university will no longer make written promises to not increase fees.