UCLA may have to more than double fees in a few years, possibly
from $15,000 to $20,000, in order to stay competitive, Chancellor
Albert Carnesale announced Thursday.
Carnesale said his plan to raise fees and offset it with higher
financial aid, which would require approval by the UC Board of
Regents and the state Legislature, would likely be necessary at
other University of California campuses as well, Carnesale said in
an interview Friday.
“We’re starting to see some of the effects of
decreased funding for public higher education and the increased gap
in resources between public universities and the private
universities with which we compete,” he said.
Competing with both private and public universities is something
Carnesale considers essential to California’s economy because
it can create or compete for new industries such as information
technology and biotechnology.
“In order to do that, (California) needs excellent
research universities. It has them now, but it only has three
privates. The rest are in the UC system,” he said, referring
to Stanford University, the University of Southern California and
the California Institute of Technology.
Sen. Shiela Kuehl, D-Los Angeles, also a UCLA alumna, said she
believes UCLA’s goals for competitiveness continue to be
important.
“I believe it is perfectly appropriate for UCLA, my alma
mater, to “˜compete’ for excellence with private
universities. But that doesn’t mean we must
“˜compete’ in what it costs to go there,” she
said.
Among the trends in UC funding Carnesale cited as going in the
wrong direction were increased student fees without improving the
quality of education, a growing student-to-faculty ratio and less
support for student services.
He said graduate students and faculty were beginning to be lured
away by private universities that could offer higher financial aid
packages.
“Nothing bad has happened yet but if you look at these
things over time, they would affect adversely our mission, which is
education, research and service,” he said.
Carnesale said offering access to low-income students continues
to be a priority for the university.
A prospective fee hike would be accompanied by higher financial
aid and more students eligible to receive it, he explained.
He said with higher fees, UCLA could continue to use the subsidy
it gets from the state to support low-income students, while
increased fees from higher-income families could be used to improve
the quality of education and research.
“Access for low-income families would be at least as good
as it is now ““ which is No. 1 in the nation,” he
said.
Carnesale said more middle-income students would become eligible
for financial aid as fees go up.
“It would be upper-income people that would have to pay
for the fees,” he said.
Even with doubled fees, Carnesale said fees would be half that
of a private university, while the quality of education at UCLA is
at least equal to private universities.
“This would be a good deal for people who could afford it,
and for those who could not, that’s why the financial aid is
important,” he said.
There are other strategies to raise university funds without
raising fees, such as accepting a higher percentage of out-of-state
students who pay higher fees, as public universities in Michigan
and Virginia have done.
But Carnesale said that was not a viable option, because there
is too great a need in California for public universities.
“There is no higher value that I have than access to (the)
University of California for lower-income people and middle-income
people,” Carnesale said.
“This is a way to ensure that continued access and at the
same time ensure the excellence that we’ve all come to know
and love, and that the people of California deserve,” he
added
Kuehl recognized the difficult budgetary situation facing the
UC, but expressed her reluctance to have students cover the
costs.
“It would always be my preference to strengthen the
university’s budget rather than putting more burden on
students and their families ““ even those who could afford
it,” she said.
“I sympathize with the chancellor’s goals and
analyses, and hope there may be a middle ground that allows for
good recruiting and excellence while not making students and their
families bear all that burden,” she said.
Student Regent Jodi Anderson said she did not think doubling or
tripling fees would be passed by the Board of Regents, but the
board recognizes the need for more money.
“As an institution, we need to look at external sources of
funding and other options so that raising student fees isn’t
used as some kind of quick fix,” she said.