Cal State, UC systems approve raising student fees
Ventura Star 3/15/07
Leaders of the University of California and the California State University voted Wednesday to raise fees, the fifth increase in six years.
Meeting at UCLA, a committee of UC's governing Board of Regents raised undergraduate fees 7 percent, taking the average annual bill, including various campus fees, to about $7,300. Fees for graduate students also rose 7 percent and fees at some professional schools could go up as much as 10 percent.
The full board subsequently ratified the increase 13-6.
CSU's Board of Trustees, meeting in Long Beach, raised fees 10 percent, putting annual costs for undergraduates at the nation's largest four-year public institution, including miscellaneous fees, at about $3,400.
The votes came over the strong objections of students, who spoke and rallied against having to pay more.
"We see our parents breaking their backs to pay off our loans," UCLA student Jonathan Lee told regents. "If you want to get our trust back, if you truly want to fulfill your duty to the people of California and if you believe that education is a right and not a privilege, you will not increase our fees."
Laura O'Grady, biology and cell molecular major at CSU Channel Islands, said if students will have to pay more fees, the state should lower Pell and Cal grant standards so more students will be able to qualify.
"To college students, it is a lot of money," said O'Grady, 21. "I'd like to see them get the money somewhere else instead from students. If you are going to raise fees, then they should also try to optimize supplementary income or cut other costs like books."
No choice, says UC president
University administrators said they don't like the increases, but they have to maintain quality.
"I hate this notion of raising fees. I just hate it," UC President Robert Dynes said outside the meeting. "It's painful to watch this."
After several years of deep budget cuts in the early 1990s, UC and CSU officials struck a deal with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger that promised small but predictable increases in state funding along with annual fee increases of no more than 10 percent.
Last year, the governor made the hikes unnecessary by putting extra money into the budget. That hasn't happened this year, and although legislators could still change that before the state's budget is made final this summer, university officials say they don't have any indications that will happen.
CSU and UC officials note that their fees are still low compared to peer institutions. But students say the costs of living in California are high, putting the total annual bill of attending college out of reach for many.
News of the fee increase also alarmed students who don't qualify for Pell or Cal grants and other financial assistance.
CSUCI sociology student Kerry Richardson said that although she works part time and her husband, Shawn, a math major at the university, works full time, it's still sometimes difficult to make ends meet.
"We really can't get loans because we don't qualify," Richardson, 37, said. "It's not going to kill me, but every increase makes it that much harder to keep balanced."
Uses for increase detailed
UC officials note that about one-third of the increased revenue will be put back into financial aid to protect low-income students from the hike. Some of the fee revenue will go to improve campus mental health services, which are currently underfunded and understaffed.
Included in the miscellaneous fees is a temporary $60 surcharge to recover losses from a class-action student lawsuit challenging professional school fee increases.
CSUCI political science and English major Renae Abordo said she recently quit her job at The Gap since she had saved enough money working anywhere from 20 to 40 hours per week.
Now that there are new costs in the horizon, Abordo said she might have to start hitting the job market again, while balancing her school commitments.
"I was really hoping they wouldn't pass the increase because I'm already on loans and scholarships," Abordo, 20, said. "But now, I'm inclined to look for another job."