Can you say, ‘Welcome to USC West!?’
By Daily Bruin Staff
Oct. 25, 1994 9:00 p.m.
Can you say, ‘Welcome to USC West!?’
By Kevin Welner
UCLA student: "Our fees increased another 18 percent this
year."
USC student: "Wow. You pay all that money and you still have to
learn stuff!"
Actually, the fee increase this year will hopefully be "only" 10
percent (unless you are an incoming professional student  see
below). A complicated series of budgetary games played over the
summer by the governor, the Legislature, the regents and the UC
Office of the President (UCOP), has left us in fee-limbo.
First, the regents passed an Educational Fee increase of 18
percent, although they really didn’t want to and undoubtedly had
quite a bit of trouble sleeping at night.
Second, the governor and the Legislature agreed on a budget
which would cap the UC fee increases at 10 percent. This budget,
however, may not survive even through the end of this calendar
year. Please be patient while I provide some background.
California has had to address a cash flow problem this year
 securing $7 billion in loans. Due to the state’s somewhat
unpleasant fiscal situation, it could not secure the loans absent a
mechanism that would ensure protection for the banks issuing the
loans if the state’s cash situation were to diminish further.
The Legislature thus inserted a "trigger" mechanism in its
budget bill which will require mid-year budget reductions if it is
determined by the State Controller in mid-November that the state’s
cash flow situation has further deteriorated. If it is determined
that this year’s budget expenditures exceed revenues by more than 1
percent of the state’s $40.9 billion budget, then the trigger will
take effect and the governor will be directed to submit a plan that
will balance the budget through increasing revenues, reducing
expenditures or both.
If the Legislature fails to enact legislation that accomplishes
the above by Feb. 15, then an automatic, across-the-board budget
reduction will take effect, exempting requirements (mainly
Proposition 98 spending on K-12 schools) and bond repayment. The
reduction, then, minus the buffer of approximately $430 million,
will be implemented proportionately for about 60 percent of the
state budget.
Third, the UC Regents, who are not legally bound to follow the
Legislature’s fee "recommendations," amended their 1994-95 Budget
Plan with respect to the Educational Fee level. They agreed to the
10 percent cap on fees for undergraduate and academic graduate
students, to be implemented in November, provided that the trigger
does not take effect. However, they also decided that the
Educational Fee increase will remain at the 18percent level for the
fall quarter, with a potential adjustment for the remaining terms,
resulting in a 10 percent increase in fees overall for the
year.
If the trigger does take effect, the university will develop an
alternative plan for consideration by the regents at their Nov.
17-18 meeting in San Francisco. As of mid-October, the word coming
from the UCOP office is that there is a 50-50 chance of the trigger
taking effect.
It should be noted that the University will follow the
Legislature’s recommendation of providing 33 percent return-to-aid
from new student fee income. Because of its computerized system,
UCLA’s financial aid office is well-positioned (in relation to
other UC schools, at least) to handle a sudden increase in
financial aid payments.
While the rest of us bemoan our 10 to 18 percent fee increase,
incoming professional students will suffer a second blow. They will
be assessed a differential fee of $2,000, again with a 33 percent
return-to-aid. The targeted schools are Anderson Graduate School of
Management, the School of Law, the School of Medicine and the
School of Dentistry.
In summary, we are currently working under the assumption that a
10 percent cap on fees will be implemented for this year with a 33
percent return-to-aid. As the trigger deadline approaches, we will
have a better sense of the state budget situation with respect to
the trigger as well as the budget picture for 1995-96. At the
moment, however, there appears to be a reasonable likelihood that
the trigger will go off, and our fees may, therefore, increase
further.
Accordingly, as a public service, I hereby furnish the following
list of the Top 10 Ways That We Can Still Afford A UC
Education:
10. Pearl Jam can sue the regents for overcharging us.
9. Gov. Wilson can be convinced that lowering our fees will
really annoy immigrants.
8. We can threaten to move to Baltimore or St. Louis.
7. We can hire former President Carter to negotiate for our
freedom.
6. We can all be born into wealthy families (this has also
proven effective in helping to be elected vice president of the
United States).
5. We can sell a television pilot for another one of those shows
"about nothing."
4. We can sell our O. J. stories to sleazy, yet generous, media
outlets.
3. We can become an immediate favorite for state funding by
changing our name to the University (and Penal Colony) of
California.
2. We can unilaterally impose a salary cap on university
administrators.
1. Divorce Roseanne.
Welner is the Graduate Student Association (GSA) external vice
president.
