Fee hikes stir up discontent

In what University of California President Robert Dynes called an “agonizing decision,” the UC Board of Regents voted 13-6 Wednesday to increase undergraduate fees by 7 percent and up to 10 percent for professional students in the upcoming 2007-2008 school year ““ the fifth fee hike in the past six years.

Some regents said they believe the education budget released earlier this year, which cut funding for certain programs in the university, will not be enough to develop necessary programs or support staff salaries to maintain quality and competition within the UC.

Some students, however, maintained they have not seen the results of previous fee increases and with the annual cost of living in California increasing along with student fees, the price of attaining a college education may be becoming a financial reach.

Opponents of the increase also say students do not have enough time to prepare for the fee hike, which is planned to be instated at the beginning of the summer session.

About 100 students from UC campuses ranging from Irvine to Merced were present both inside and outside the meeting to protest the increase. This was part of a campaign that began in November, when the state and regents began discussing a possible student fee increase in line with the new budget, said Tina Park, a board member of the UC Students Association.

Across the floors of the Covel Commons Plaza outside the meeting, student protesters taped signs on the concrete. Each read in the form of a letter.

“Dear regents, you make it impossible for hardworking students to stay in school because we are constantly threatened by fee increases,” Park’s letter read.

According to the UC Office of the President, undergraduate students will see a 7 percent increase, which is about $435 a year. Graduate students will be receiving a 7 to 10 percent increase ““ about $483 a year ““ which will vary among professional schools and campuses across the state.

But Dynes, who voted for the proposal, said a percentage will be compensated through financial aid and grants, mainly for students who come from lower-income families.

Dynes estimates that students from families that earn $60,000 to $100,000 a year would actually be affected by a 3 percent increase and families that make less than $60,000 annually would not be affected by the fee increase.

“It is regrettable that fee increases are necessary to address the university’s need, but I want to reassure students that the university has an exceptional financial aid program, which along with an increase in Cal Grant awards, will mitigate the impact of higher fees on financially needy and low- and middle-income students,” Dynes said in a statement.

But Bill Schiebler, the University of California Students Association president, said these students would still be affected because even students with financial assistance will have to work more hours or take out more loans to compensate for the cost of attending the UC.

According to the UC Office of the President, the university devised a compact in 2004 with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger that put a 10 percent ceiling on fee increases within the next six years.

Though the regents had approved a fee increase last year, the state was able to allocate enough money to buy out a 2006-2007 financial increase needed to fund certain costs by the university, so an increase in student fees was deemed unnecessary.

But as students chanted outside the meeting, Dynes said he believed the decision to increase fees was the most difficult, and a 7 percent increase was the lowest amount the office of the president could recommend to the regents given current circumstances in the budget.

Larry Hershman, the vice president of the budget committee, said the increase would help contribute and support budgetary priorities within the 10-campus system. This includes increased salaries of faculty and staff, new initiatives to increase graduate student support, and mental health services.

With the 7 percent increase, the regents also voted to distribute 43 percent of the revenue for the advancement of student mental health services and 57 percent to fund faculty salaries and other university costs.

Beginning this summer, students also will see a $60 surcharge, which was approved by the board in July 2005 to help replace a shortfall of revenue originating from a court ruling in a class action lawsuit.

By not only supporting these programs and priorities, but developmental research ones as well, Dynes said the fee increases will help keep the university at the forefront as a significant contributor to the state’s economy, which was one of three goals he had laid out for the university.

Other goals Dynes presented included pushing the UC to forge a strategic international alliance around the globe and to help advance the quality of the state’s future workforce by helping K-12 education.

And though the amount UC students pay is less than the fees and tuition of other universities, some students say the standard of living in California makes the total cost of education less affordable.

“With the rising cost of education and other costs, kids are having more trouble paying their tuition. They’ll either have to drop out or take out huge loans,” said Beeta Baghoolizadeh, a first-year undeclared student.

Protesting students wore shirts that read “The power and promise of ten,” representing what they said they believe is the regents’ responsibility and accountability to the 10 university campuses and its students.

“We have one main focus here ““ fees. We are calling on the regents to uphold their commitment to the power and promise of 10 by not increasing student fees,” said Ruth Obel-Jorgensen, University of California Students Association director of communications.

The increase at the UC came on the same day the California State University Board of Trustees voted to raise their own student fees by 10 percent.

Because a state buyout of student fees can still occur, Park said the UC student organization and students from different campuses will be taking their lobbying efforts to the state in hopes of distributing more money in the budget for the university.

Though most of the regents’ meeting was spent discussing and acting upon mental health, professional and undergraduate student fees, some of the regents and administrative faculty gave presentations, such as the annual benchmark update on the status of the university and telemedicine programs to help improve health in rural areas.

Today the regents plan to speak about a multi-year proposal to gradually increase student fees in the professional schools, stem cell research in the university, and discuss and act upon compensation packages for executive faculty, such as the regents’ secretary and chief-of-staff positions.

With reports from Jennifer Gottesfeld, Bruin contributor.

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