EDITORIAL: Students should not bear cost of UC cuts

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 Edward Chiao

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Much to the relief of all University of California students,
Gov. Gray Davis was able to keep student fee rates unchanged in his
May budget revision. But with some UC administrators openly pushing
for an increase in fees, the outcome for student fees still remains
uncertain.

Some UC Regents, including John Davies, believe “it was a
policy blunder not to raise fees” in order to account for the
$163 million budget cuts. Larry Hershman, UC vice president of the
budget, has also expressed interest in having temporary student fee
increases in times of budget difficulty.

But before pushing to increase student fees, UC administrators
should promote searching for alternative sources of funding beyond
just student fees and state funding. University teacher-development
programs are doing just that by seeking federal grants to replace
the decreased state funding. Outreach and research programs, which
also face significant cuts, should follow their example in a
comprehensive search for funding.

It may be easy to turn to an increase in student fees in tough
economic times, but this is not the right answer. If the battle for
a student fee increase ends up in Sacramento between the state
legislature and the governor, Davis must remain consistent with his
promise to keep education as his top priority and look for
alternative venues of funding.