Once again, the University of California Board of Regents will
come to the table to debate increasing student fees. And some
students are hoping this time the board will put its foot down and
say: “Enough is enough.”
Though in his proposed budget Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
anticipated the UC would raise undergraduate student fees by 10
percent, graduate fees by 40 percent and the out-of-state surcharge
by 20 percent, it’s ultimately up to the regents to decide
whether fees should increase and by how much.
Last year, the regents followed then Gov. Gray Davis’
recommendations and hiked fees by a total of 40 percent. Some hope
last year’s increases will give the regents the impetus to
reject another round.
“It’s important for the university to take a very
strong principled stand right now and say these are very severe
proposals that would be incredibly difficult for us to
accept,” said Matt Murray, the student representative to the
regents.
“Especially given that student fees were raised by 40
percent over the last calendar year, further increases will be
really tough for the university to accept,” Murray added.
Murray echoes the sentiments expressed by a minority of the
Board of Regents: that the board should stand strong, refuse to
raise fees, and tell Sacramento to find funds or cut from
elsewhere.
What may ultimately decide the board’s decision, though,
is not principles but economics. Schwarzenegger anticipated the UC
could make up for $62.9 million by increasing undergraduate fees,
$57.7 million by increasing graduate fees, and $32.6 million by
increasing out-of-state fees.
All told, the $153.2 million the UC could make by hiking fees
would go a long way toward making up the $372 million the UC was
cut by in the budget draft.
But governing bodies like the regents have little negotiating
power with the state, said Cheryl Fields, director of public
affairs for the National Association of State and Land-Grant
Colleges.
This lack of power is because states are usually under no
obligation to provide a certain level of support to education, so
education officials may be more inclined to take what they can
get.
Fields also said in her five years of studying higher education
nationwide, she has never heard of a governing board challenging
the state budget.
Students also provide a reliable source of income for
universities ““ especially institutions such as the UC, one of
the largest public university systems in the world.
“The UC is an institution where a lot of students want to
go. It’s a place where you can raise tuition and people will
always fill those spots,” said Will Doyle, a senior policy
analyst with the National Center for Public Policy and Higher
Education.
On the flip side of the coin, Doyle added, is that students from
poor families will have a harder time attending an institution like
the UC because of the cost, and the regents have to “think
about whether that trade-off is worth it.”
Even if the UC refuses to hike fees, the state could still cut
the university by $372 million, which means the UC would have to
further cut funds for programs like student services and research
““ programs that have already taken vicious cuts in the
past.
These considerations ““ and the general disposition of the
regents board itself ““ mean standing up to Sacramento will be
tough.
“Our regents have proven to not be extremely radical, so
the idea they would take that sort of stance is unlikely,”
said Anu Joshi, vice-chair of the UC Students Association, a group
that represents UC students systemwide.
Still, Murray says the regents should fight for the
university’s autonomy from the state.
“It’s not necessarily in the university’s best
interest to be totally against the government,” he said.
“But I don’t think the university should just roll over
and do whatever the government says.”