This post was last updated Nov. 14 at 11:25 p.m.

SAN FRANCISCO — A UC Board of Regents committee recommended tuition hikes for nonresident students Wednesday. 

The board is holding its bimonthly meeting Tuesday to Thursday at UC San Francisco. Its finance and capital strategies committee voted to increase tuition by $3,402, bringing the cost of a UC education for students living outside of California who first enroll at the University in the 2025-2026 academic year to a total of $37,602. 

The board last voted to increase nonresident student tuition by $762 per year in 2019. 

[Related: UC Board of Regents votes to increase nonresident tuition by $762 per year]

Caín Díaz, associate vice president of the UC operating budget, said undergraduate nonresidents at the UC pay lower nonresident fees than at other leading public institutions, including the University of Virginia and the University of Michigan. The overall total cost of attending a UC is also lower, as UC students graduate with less debt than most other public institutions in the American Association of Universities, he added. 

The share of UC nonresident students graduating with debt is declining, according to a slideshow shown at the presentation.

“We wanted to ensure that the prospective nonresident student who is looking at the UC as an option sees that the total cost of attending one of our campuses is about the same as the total cost at the two comparators,” he said.

Regent John Pérez said the statistics shown by Díaz could be misleading, as out-of-state students are disproportionately wealthier and therefore can graduate with less debt. He added that the UC could therefore still be out of reach for students who need financial aid.

Miguel Craven, president of the Associated Students of UC Merced, said the tuition increase could limit accessibility to the UC.

“We want to be accessible – not just for our California residents but for everyone throughout the nation and throughout the world,” he said. “That 10% increase could be that limiting factor in deciding if they truly do want to go to the UC in this upcoming year.”

Several students also spoke out against the proposal during the public comment period of Wednesday’s meeting. 

Javier Nuñez-Verdugo, external vice president of the UCLA Undergraduate Students Association, said they believe the tuition hike for nonresident students does not reflect values of diversity that the UC claims to promote. They added that the University should find other ways to fill its budget deficit, rather than by increasing tuition.

“Students like myself are already struggling to have our basic needs met due to the rising cost of living,” they said. “For nonresidents like international students from the Global South and non-8540 status students, this would further threaten their very chances of being able to commit to the UC.”

Sherry Zhou, a third-year communication and political science student at UCLA, criticized the Regents’ decision to raise tuition despite recently raising salaries for university executives. 

“This tuition hike will make the UC system inaccessible to international students and out-of-state students,” she said. “In a system where many students are struggling with rent and food, a tuition hike would only further exacerbate issues of basic needs.”

The board will vote to approve the committee’s recommendation Thursday.