IF the cost of tuition at the University of California rises, taxpayers may find themselves contributing more money toward students’ education.
On Thursday, Nov. 20, the UC Board of Regents approved a plan that would raise tuition by 5 percent by 2019 if the school system doesn’t receive any further funding from the state.
Along with increasing tuition fees comes a surge in publicly-funded financial aid, which could cost taxpayers an additional $45 million next year and at least $250 million per year by 2019.
Of in-state undergraduate students, more than half pay for their tuition through a combination of federal, state and university grants. This year, only 31 percent pay the entire tuition cost of $12,192.
In California, one of the biggest sources of financial aid comes from Cal Grants, a program into which the state invests millions of dollars.
When the state cut about $1 billion from the UC system between 2008 and 2012, an analysis revealed that Cal Grant awards to UC students went up by approximately $400 million to help students pay for their education.
Data on the UC website states that in 2008, California spent $339 million on Cal Grants, a figure that went up to $773 million in 2013.
And last year, UC provided $775 million of its own money to students.
“I write to reassure you that if tuition does increase, financial aid resources are expected to increase, too,” UC financial aid director Chris Carter wrote in a letter to students.
The new plan would impose an average increase of $612 per California resident student at a UC school, an amount that student regent Sadia Saifuddin said can cause financial strain for students.
“Six hundred dollars may not seem like a lot, but that’s almost an entire month’s rent for some students who are barely making it by as it is,” Saifuddin told the Board of Regents, according to San Jose Mercury News. “And I was one of those students.
Other UC students, many of whom are in the middle class, pay for part or all of their tuition, along with room, board and books. This can put the annual cost of attending school at more than $30,000.
“I am extremely disappointed the UC Regents voted to raise tuition and impose new burdens on middle-class students and their families,” said Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins in a statement.
Dianne Klein, a spokeswoman for UC President Janet Napolitano, said the system would need $100 million by next year for it not to implement the tuition hike.
“To put it another way, each $20 million would reduce the increase by 1 percent,” she wrote in an email.
The new plan would boost tuition by 28 percent to $15,564 by fall 2019.
(With reports from Associated Press, Reuters and San Jose Mercury News)
(www.asianjournal.com)
(LA Midweek December 3-5, 2014 Sec. A pg.1)