SAN FRANCISCO “”mdash; Faced with an 8 percent fee increase proposal, the UC Board of Regents will debate today whether another fee increase is worth the political backlash.
After deductions for financial aid, the increase would contribute $116 million to a budget that must address $340 million in rising mandatory costs next year. But approval of the proposal would mean student fees have increased more than 40 percent in two years.
“It’s more trouble than it’s worth,” said Student Regent Jesse Cheng, who opposes the fee increase. “Students were getting arrested … and (the fee increase is) less than one percent (of the total budget).”
Todd Bowen, director of advocacy for the Undergraduate Students Association Council, said the increases are a done deal.
“I believe the majority of regents already made the decision over a week ago,” Bowen said. “This meeting (on Thursday) is just a technicality.”
But Cheng and Student Regent-Designate Alfredo Mireles Jr. said the decision has yet to be set in stone. Both have been lobbying the “more moderate and conservative” regents to swing votes against the fee hike.
Patrick Lenz, UC vice president of budget, said the regents are “incredibly divided” over the issue.
“They really, really struggle, particularly after a year when (they) raised fees by 32 percent,” Lenz said.
Lenz cautioned about the stark reality of the state’s financial constraints, however. On Nov. 10, the Legislative Analyst’s Office reported that California faces a $25.4 billion budget deficit. The office also projected an annual budget shortfall of $20 billion until at least 2016.
That means the UC will have to lobby harder than ever for funding, Lenz said.
“Either somebody has to get the political will to find a way to bridge that gap through additional revenue and cuts, or we’re going to be hard-pressed to get much more money out of the state over the next five years,” Lenz said.
Lenz did acknowledge that the university received the most funding out of any public entity in the budget signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Oct. 9, while health and welfare services received deep cuts. But the LAO report made Lenz skeptical about the likelihood of continuing to receive such high priority.
Fee raises may become an annual measure as a result.
In that case, Lenz said he would like to see more modest increases that families can plan for rather than sharp, sudden spikes.
“I think what is critical at this point is to try to get on a pattern where student fees are moderate, they are predictable,” Lenz said.
The university is implementing a series of measures to find a long-term solution to the shortfalls, Lenz said. Chief among them: administrative efficiencies in energy savings and programs such as Connexus Travel, which aims to reduce the cost of flights, hotels and car rentals for UC-related travel.
Administrative efficiencies alone are projected to save $100 million annually beginning in the 2011-2012 fiscal year.
The enrollment of out-of-state and international students, who pay significantly more for a UC education than in-state residents, also garnered discussion at the meeting. Provost and Executive Vice President Lawrence Pitts discussed capping the number of nonresidents in the UC system at 10 percent. Currently, about 6.6 percent of the system is composed of out-of-state and international students.
Several of the regents questioned the need for a cap, with Regent Charlene Zettel calling the proposal “premature.”
Nonresident tuition will likely soon be called “nonresident supplemental tuition.”
A committee on Wednesday approved re-labeling “fees” as “tuition.”
The full board will vote Thursday on the change.