SAN FRANCISCO - A judge refused Wednesday to stop the University of California regents from collecting increased fees from certain students.

A handful of students have sued the university system, saying that it breached its contract with them by raising the professional degree fee after saying it would remain the same for the duration of the students' education.

The students asked Wednesday that the university system be prohibited from collecting the fee increase until the lawsuit is decided. According to the suit, the increase varies by professional degree program, but ranges from $563 to $1,894.

San Francisco Superior Court Judge James Warren declined to do so, saying the students -- including lead plaintiff Mohammad "Mo" Kashmiri -- had not proved financial and other damages.

"It's not the court's job to say $1,000 to Mr. Kashmiri balances against $4 billion to the university," Warren said.

The students who wrote declarations supporting the lawsuit all cited financial reasons for opposing the fee increase, but none said they could not take out additional loans or get jobs to raise the necessary money, Warren said.

The attorney for Kashmiri and the other students argued that a specific promise in the student catalog said "professional degree fees" would not be raised. However, UC Regents attorney Michael Goldstein pointed to a fee-increase disclaimer in the same catalog.

"I know for them it sounds like we broke a promise -- what happened was we had to change our plans," Goldstein said.

That disclaimer is useless because it was printed on an inside flap of the back cover, and not located anywhere near the promise that the fee would not be raised, said Kashmiri attorney Andrew Freeman.

"That sort of general disclaimer does not defeat a more specific promise," he said.

The professional degree fee increase will affect 6,315 students, according to the UC Regents. The university system expects to collect more than $9.4 million for the fall semester, the judge said.

That money would be returned if the students' lawsuit prevails. It continues to move forward in San Francisco Superior Court.

With the fee now due, Kashmiri said after the court hearing that he likely will not be able to attend law school at Boalt Hall this semester. Already $100,000 in debt, he doesn't want to take out another loan, and he's having trouble finding a job.

"They can't balance the budget on the backs of students," he said.