A university grant used to take care of student fees for Jose Jaramillo.
The third-year psychology student still relied on a 15-hour workweek to defray textbook and housing costs, but his fees were completely covered. That is, until they outgrew his grant, and a $400 shortfall began tugging at his pocket as well.
While Jaramillo’s struggle to pay for school is not unique, where students’ fee money goes is a much more contentious issue.
A recent report from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges found the University of California to be in violation of its own compensation rules, citing the lack of an adequate review system ensuring compliance to policy.
“We believe the report addresses some important issues, and validates some of the reforms that we have been making,” said Brad Hayward, a spokesman for the UC Office of the President. “We are actively addressing governance issues.”
While a festering state deficit forced Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to allocate nearly a half-billion dollars below the university’s proposed amount, the UC Board of Regents voted January to raise Chief of Staff Diane Griffiths’ pay to $295,000 ““ a 26 percent boost in her 10th month at the position.
Tara Zimonjic and Kristina Lai, campus organizers for student advocacy group Tuition Relief Now, said the relative affordability of state schools should also reflect executives’ salaries.
“We are going to a public university now, and while we do need good commissioners, we can’t have them paid as much as private university executives,” Zimonjic said. “They should know going in that they couldn’t expect the same (compensation), because those are paid by private organizations.”
In her research, Lai said she found numerous regents with annual salaries of more than $200,000 in 2006, the total of which would fund 580 students for an entire academic year.
“It’s (an important decision),” Lai said. “Do you want a good school, or do you want to graduate a really good class of students to society?”
Hayward did not comment specifically on Griffiths’ case, but said the university is taking measures to keep the public informed about executive compensation issues.
“The thrust of the reforms is to make sure our compensation procedures are as transparent to the public as possible, and in compliance with university policies,” Hayward said. “We want to clear up areas where there was a lack of specificity or room for confusion. We are in a very aggressive role to make sure the regents and broader public have the information they need.”
Hayward maintains that the university is still committed to cope with the current situation, citing a recently approved budget plan to save $68 million in administrative costs.
However, Jaramillo, who since his freshman year has had to work to pay for school, said he is still doubtful.
“At the end of the day, I don’t feel like they really care about us,” Jaramillo said. “So many of the dorms are triples now. Lectures are impacted like crazy, with people sitting on the floor. What are they using the money for?”