Regents weigh options for fee increases
BY ANNE BURKE
UCLA Today Staff
The University of California Board of Regents on March 17 began
looking at alternatives to hefty student fee increases proposed
by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for 2004-05.
One of the three options that the regents examined closely was
a proposal that would preserve Schwarzenegger’s 10% fee hike
for undergraduates, but raise graduate fees by only 15%, significantly
less than the 40% hike Schwarzenegger proposed. Other scenarios
would increase undergraduate and graduate fees by 15% and 20% respectively,
or 13% and 25%.
The downside is that all alternatives would fall short of generating
the $121 million that Schwarzenegger’s budget assumes will
be raised by fee increases.
“This is a crisis point,” said Larry Hershman, UC
vice president for budget, who outlined fee alternatives at the
board’s meeting at UC San Francisco. “We need to work
something out, as we did with previous governors. It’s absolutely
critical not just for the university but ... the long-term good
of the state of California in terms of its economy and social fabric.”
The board also considered ways to soften the impact of Schwarzenegger’s
proposal to hike fees to increase revenue for the professional schools
by $42.2 million. One option Hershman presented would increase fees
$4,850 for students at most professional schools, while other proposals
suggested hikes ranging from $3,000 to $5,000.
The regents did not vote on student fees but indicated they will
make a decision at their next regular meeting, May 19-20 in San
Francisco, or earlier if they decide to call a special session.
Hershman’s presentation brought into sharp focus the costly
tradeoffs involved in various fee structures. For example, lowering
the fee hike for graduate students would take financial aid money
away from low-income undergraduates. While it’s important
to provide financial aid for undergraduates, 30% of whom are low-
income, UC at the same time must price graduate education competitively
enough to attract the best and brightest students, Hershman said.
Painting an even bleaker picture, Hershman said UC may have to
deal with $70 million to $170 million in unallocated reductions.
Schwarzenegger also has called for a 20% increase in nonresident
fees, a smaller percentage of fee hikes returned to financial aid,
an end to outreach, a reduction in freshman enrollment by 400 at
each campus and an increase in the student-faculty ratio. The regents
have voiced support for maintaining both outreach and the current
student-faculty ratio.
The regents did not say whether they preferred one fee option
over others. Addressing the board, UCLA student government leader
Matt Kaczmarek, chair of the UC Student Association, told the regents
that none of the scenarios was acceptable. He said undergraduates
are looking at a 60% tuition increase in 21 months, while graduate
students could see a hike of 102% in the same period.
“I hope you ask yourselves, at what point are these options
no longer acceptable?” Kaczmarek said.
UC President Robert C. Dynes urged regents to raise their voices
in Sacramento as legislators begin crafting a budget compromise.
“We are on the edge right now,” he said. “A great
public research university — in this case, the world’s
greatest public university — cannot be sustained if it is
made to absorb deep budget cuts year after year.”
But Regent Ward Connerly predicted a lobbying effort in Sacramento
will fail. He urged the regents to pay attention to the recommendations
coming out of the governor’s office and act accordingly. With
no end in sight for UC’s money problems, the university needs
to operate under a new paradigm in which higher education “is
not going to be a right,” he added.
“We’re not going to be able to sustain the way we’ve
done business in the past,” he said. “It just ain’t
going to happen.” Connerly said.
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