The budget crisis gripping California has resulted in the state legislature cutting or underfunding scores of programs and services. Not surprisingly, the states’ financial woes have trickled down to the University of California school system. UC will go into the 2009-10 school year with approximately a $450 million budget shortfall compared to funding levels from the previous year. Attempting to counteract this, on May 7, 2009 The University of California Board of Regents approved systemwide student fees increases. The cost hike, which went into effect this summer, makes going to a UC 9.3 percent more expensive than it was last year. In actual dollars, in-state undergraduates will pay $662 more; in-state graduate students are being asked to cough up an extra $750 for the school year.
“I don’t know where else to go,” UC President Mark G. Yudof said after announcing the fee increases during a May 7th Regents meeting. “I simply do not know where to go.”
Despite the implemented increases, actions taken by the University of California and the federal government will soften the blow for most students.
UC Grants will increase by $39 million, thanks to the university’s decision to set aside 33 percent of revenue generated by the undergraduate fee increase for grants to needy students. Additionally, the new Blue and Gold Opportunity Plan will keep students with financial need from being priced out of a UC education. Under the plan, students who come from households earning less than $60,000 per year and are eligible for financial aid will have their fees covered by scholarships or grants.
Funds from the federal stimulus package, which cover the $3 million tab for the Blue and Gold Opportunity Plan, will add $33 million in new grant funding for UC students this year. Specifically, those receiving Pell Grants should notice a jump in aid. The maximum amount for the government-funded grant has increased from $4731 to $5350. An additional $27 million in Cal Grant funding will also be available to students this year.
“Taken together, these programs are expected to provide, on average, between $1,150 and $1,500 in additional resources to UC undergraduate families with incomes below $180,000—fully offsetting the cost of the $662 fee increase for most of those families,” Ricardo Vazquez from the Strategic Communication department of University Affairs said in a press release following the announced hikes.
The cycle of new cuts and increased student costs is anything but surprising. While the amount of funds allocated to the UC system has continued to slide downward over the past two decades, student fees have rapidly trended upward. Taking into account a 7.3 percent systemwide fee increase last year, student fees have gone up six times since the 2002-03 school year, according to the UC 2009-10 Budget for Current Operations.
In a July 15th letter from the Regents to UCLA students, faculty and alumni, the Board juxtaposes the recent fortunes of the UC system with those of the states’ well-funded prison system.
“The 2009-10 core budget will be reduced by an estimated 20 percent. This will bring the amount of state investment in the University down to $2.4 billion - exactly where it was in real dollars a decade ago. In the same time frame, by the way, funding for state prisons has more than doubled, from $5 to $11 billion. It’s been reported that, based on current spending trends, California’s prison budget soon will overtake that of the state’s universities and community colleges.”
UC student fees are once again on the rise, but thanks to steps taken by the UC system and the federal government, the out-of-pocket effect will be minimal for undergraduates. Unfortunately for graduate students, the boost in Pell and Cal Grant money will not offset the increases fees because those grants are only awarded to undergraduates.
