College students planning summer studies will have to spend more money than ever to cover their costs for a June-through-August education.

At the University of California, Davis, fees for summer school are jumping 49 percent over last year to $127 from $85 per unit for undergraduates. A cap on fees for students taking more than six units - which helped lure record numbers of summer students the past two years - will also be scrapped.

UC Berkeley officials also have announced higher summer fees, which are jumping to $166 from $127 per unit last year for undergraduates.

"It looks like I'll be paying twice as much as I did last summer," said Paloma Perez, a 20-year-old junior at UC Davis and the campus' student body vice president.

Under pressure to shrink enrollment and costs, budget writers at California's public colleges and universities are looking everywhere they can to make up for the hundreds of millions of state dollars that have disappeared over three years of state budget shortfalls.

Student fees at UC and CSU have risen three times already since the end of 2002 and the governing boards of both systems are expected to hike them again next month in time for fall classes.

"The state budget is making things very difficult," said UC Davis Vice Provost Bill Lacy.

UC Davis, which has seen its summer school enrollment double in the last two years, is eliminating a popular fee cap that helped boost those numbers, Lacy said. With the cap, students only paid for up to six units; anything more was free.

"We can't boost enrollment this year, so there was no compelling reason to offer the fee cap," Lacy said.

UC Davis officials don't know if the fee hikes will shrink summer enrollment, which exceeded 9,000 students last summer.

"We hope the fact that financial aid is available for summer school will moderate the costs and keep students enrolled," Lacy said.

Though fees will remain comparable to last summer's at California State University, Sacramento, students will end up paying slightly more or less depending on the number of units they carry, said Larry Glasmire, director of special programs and enrollment analysis.

The big change from last year, which won't be discernible to students, is that CSUS won't use any state money to pay for summer school. Summer school expenses this year will be covered almost entirely with student fees.

"We have to reduce the enrollment that is supported by state funds, so we are trying to do that in the summer session rather than in the traditional school year," Glasmire said.

Glasmire expects summer enrollment to be similar to last year's 4,800 students.

Perez, whose student government duties and other extracurricular activities consume much of her time, says summer classes have been crucial for keeping her on track for on-time graduation.

"It's too bad that fees just keep going up and up and up," Perez said. "But you have to suck it up and roll with the punches. I've got to take the summer classes if I'm going to graduate."

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Prices going up
• University of California, Davis: In 2003, undergraduate fees were $85 per unit for up to six units. Students taking seven or more units paid only for six. This summer, fees will be $127 per unit with no cap. Students will also pay a $172 mandatory registration fee.
• California State University, Sacramento: In 2003, undergraduate fees were $583 for up to six units; fees for more than seven units were $913. This summer, undergraduate fees will be $146 per unit for up to four units; a flat $594 for five or six units; $107 per unit for students who take between seven and nine units and a flat $1,023 for students taking 10 or more units. All students must pay a $129 miscellaneous fee.
• Community colleges: Fees are $18 per unit.