The plan by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to raise fees at Boalt Hall School of Law and other UC professional schools this fall by another $5,000 threatens to limit access to some of the university's most popular programs.

Five years ago, the UC regents decided to start increasing fees at its law, business, medical and other professional schools above what UC charges for its undergraduate programs. The intention was that fee revenue would go back to the schools themselves -- some of it to provide scholarships to needy students, and the rest to upgrade the quality of the education they receive.

Like the $3,000 fee increase imposed on students earlier this year, the $5,000 increase planned for this fall will go entirely to Sacramento to help close the state's budget deficit. None of it will go to make basic upgrades such as improving computer access and library services. None will go to provide scholarships.

UC's professional schools have traditionally been able to offer only a fraction of the financial aid competing schools such as Harvard and Stanford can provide. Until now, that has not been a major drawback, because fees were low, and students could take out modest loans to make up the difference.

But this fall, the fees at Boalt Hall will be $22,500 for California residents, only $10,000 less than at comparable private schools. If the fee gap between UC's professional schools and its competitors continues to narrow, only students from high-income backgrounds will be able to afford to enroll in them.

If the goal is to turn UC's professional schools into quasi- private schools, such a strategy should be discussed openly, not implemented through a throwaway line or two in the governor's budget.

At the very least, Schwarzenegger should agree to allow Boalt Hall and other professional schools to retain a substantial share of fee revenues to provide scholarships to needy students. All the university's must remain accessible to Californian's citizens. That includes its world-class professional schools.