Chancellor Albert Carnesale defended his proposal to double fees
while increasing financial aid during a conference Friday, saying
it is one of the five options he believes is available to combat
the increasingly glum financial situation the University of
California faces in the future.
Carnesale said in October fees may have to be raised from their
current rate to about $15,000 to $20,000 in the future, but
emphasized on Friday during his quarterly meeting with the Daily
Bruin that his suggestion was one of five others that would begin a
much-needed discussion on what the UC can do to stay competitive
with private universities.
“The headlines say “˜Chancellor calls for higher
fees’ when what I call for is for us to get into a discussion
about how we are going to close this gap, or we are not going to be
able to maintain the excellence and access that currently
characterize the University of California,” he said,
referring to what he believes was the wrong emphasis put on his
proposal by news sources.
If fees were to increase that dramatically, the chancellor said
the UC would still be distinguishable from private schools that
charge high fees and offer large aid packets because of the large
proportion of low-income students that the UC serves.
Carnesale said this is evident because UC schools hold the first
through sixth positions on the greatest number of students that
receive federal Pell Grants, with UCLA in the top spot.
About the most recent fee increases made at the bimonthly UC
Board of Regents meeting Thursday on the UCLA campus, Carnesale
said the money by which the fees were increased wasn’t as big
a concern as the trend the increase may be setting paired with
lowering funding to financial aid.
The portion of university fees going into financial aid was
lowered from 33 percent to 25 percent in recent years while fees
have continuously risen.
“The greater concern is … is this the beginning of a
trend? Are we headed for higher fees, lower aid? I would certainly
be opposed to higher fees, lower aid,” he said.
He added that due to current fee increases, students are
“paying more and getting less” because the increases do
not fully compensate for state cuts, resulting in diminishing
university resources.
Another hit to their pocketbooks that students may soon
experience will come in the form of a drastic fee increase for the
Associated Students of ASUCLA, from its $7.50 to a potential $58.50
per year in 2009-2010. No official proposal has been made yet, but
an increase could be made as soon as next year.
Carnesale said the independently run enterprise has been open to
suggestions from the administration and hopes it will be able to
come out of its fiscal woes. The enterprise is valuable for
students, he added, because it provides both an educational and
commercial experience.
The chancellor also spoke about the willed body scandal, in
which university employees were charged with the illegal selling of
body parts last spring and said he wasn’t concerned that the
release date for a report on the scandal was postponed from this
fall to January. Former Gov. George Deukmejian is spearheading the
investigation.
“He was always told to take the time he needed to do this
right,” Carnesale said, adding that the report may be taking
longer than expected because it will make recommendations to the
entire UC and not solely to UCLA.
The chancellor also criticized student activists who are
currently lobbying against the expected cumulative progress
requirement, which requires students to take a certain amount of
units each quarter.
He said the students were being hypocritical when on one hand,
they advocate more access to the university and on the other hand,
they protest ECP, the purpose of which is to increase access to
students by speeding up the tenure of students currently in the
university.
Having been at the university for seven years, the chancellor
also said he is not looking to retire in the immediate future, but
added that he believes leadership tenures should be considered in
10-year blocks.
Carnesale also spoke briefly about UCLA’s new logo, which
cost the university nearly $100,000.
“I think it’s rather attractive,” he said,
while UCLA spokesman Lawrence Lokman added that UCLA was able to
save $79,000 in the whole design process.
But when asked why the university didn’t look to its own
design department for the logo, Lokman said they probably should
have.