Editorial: UC should protest future fee increases
By Daily Bruin Staff
Jan. 11, 2004 9:00 p.m.
Gov. Schwarzenegger has proposed to raise UC graduate fees by 40
percent, undergraduate fees by 10 percent and cut state funding for
student loans and a wide variety of university programs. The
combined effect of these moves would impact the UC’s standing
as a premier research university and would strongly discourage
students from attending a UC campus.
If these cuts are approved by the legislature, it will become
harder to say that UCLA is one of the best deals in higher
education.
The situation for graduate students is most dire. Already,
doctoral students at UCLA are less likely than students at other
schools to receive financial support packages. At the University of
Michigan, 85 percent of doctoral students receive long-term aid
packages. At UCLA only 60 percent get this aid. With a 40 percent
increase in fees, the effect on students would be terribly
magnified.
A university degree is no longer optional for people who are
highly motivated and wish to have creative and engaging jobs.
Schwarzenegger’s proposals do not represent this reality.
The UC Board of Regents and legislature must stand up to the
governor and demand that the education system receive the
protections Schwarzenegger promised during his campaign.
