Fee hike looms over UC students

This post was updated July 28, 2020 at 4:00 p.m.

In response to the $16 billion deficit facing the state of California, both Gov. Schwarzenegger and the politically impartial Legislative Analyst’s Office recommended a substantial fee increase for students to the UC Board of Regents last week.

The current student fees are $6,636 this year for undergraduates while fees for graduate students are $7,440.

“The governor’s budget proposal includes a 7.4 percent increase in student fees while the Legislative Analyst’s Office includes a 10 percent fee increase,” said Ricardo Vazquez, a UC spokesman.

He said though both plans advocate budget cuts, they still include opportunities for expansion of UC projects.

“We think that, overall, the approach does contain some funding for enrollment growth and funding for mandatory costs that will in general will be beneficial for the UC,” Vazquez said.

Schwarzenegger presented his plan in January. He and the legislature hope to reach an agreement in July.

“Whatever cuts are proposed by the state governor or the legislature, the regents will have to adjust the university’s budget to absorb whatever cuts are proposed there,” Vazquez added.

After the regents receive their monetary allocation from Schwarzenegger’s budget, they must construct their own. Due to the proposed cuts, the board is currently discussing budget trade-offs, Vazquez said.

“The regents have expressed concern about the budget and the proposed cuts,” he said.

Many student groups are opposed to this prospective fee increase.

“Our hope is that the regents will investigate alternative means for funding and hopefully not vote to increase student fees,” said Jesse Melgar, external vice president of the Undergraduate Student Association Council and a UC Students Association representative.

He said it is time for legislators, Schwarzenegger and the regents to sit down and discuss creative methods for supplementing the lack of funding.

“As elected and appointed representatives for the people of California, it is their duty and a fundamental right to fund higher education,” Melgar said.

He said he believes that as well as affecting the affordability of the UC for current students, a fee hike can turn qualified applicants away.

Melgar added that he believes students are starting to realize this is an issue that is dramatically affecting underrepresented communities.

“I think that the new budget puts higher education in danger in California,” said Brandon Harrison, UCSA board member.

Harrison said that he believes the proposed cuts to the UC will hurt California’s economy in the future.

“Every dollar spent in education in California is $3 earned down the line,” he said.

Harrison said Schwarzenegger needs to prioritize education in his budget.

“To cut 10 percent uniformly from all state services is ignorant,” he said.

According to Vazquez, in the past, 33 percent of fee increases have been used to mitigate the impact on students who require financial aid. Students whose parents’ annual income is less than $60,000 get full coverage from the fee increases, while students with parental income of under $100,000 get half of the fee increase covered, he said.

“This addition of funding, along with Cal Grant programs, fully covers the fee increases for grant-eligible students,” Vazquez said.