University of California 2011 - UC regents raise tuition by 9.6 percent
University of California regents voted Thursday to raise tuition by 9.6 percent, sending the total cost for undergraduates to $12,192 for the upcoming school year.
The increase comes on top of an 8 percent tuition hike regents approved last year, also to take effect this fall. Combined, the raises mean tuition will be $1,890 more this fall than it was a year earlier. That figure doesn't include books, room, board or about $1,000 in additional fees charged by individual campuses.
UC regents blamed the latest tuition increase on state budget cuts. The budget Gov. Jerry Brown signed last month reduced UC funding by $650 million, or about 22 percent. Regents said they were unhappy about raising tuition but felt it was necessary to preserve UC's academic quality. UC is already having difficulty retaining star faculty who regents said are being offered more money from other universities.
"To not support the faculty is totally irresponsible," said regent Richard Blum. "We can't support the faculty unless we have these tuition increases."
Four regents voted against the tuition increase: Eddie Island, Alfredo Mireles, George Marcus and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom.
"The biggest threat to our democracy is income inequality, the loss of the middle class," Newsom said. "And here we are once again, putting the nail in the coffin of the middle class. That's exactly who gets hurt in this debate."
Grants cover tuition for UC students from families with incomes up to $80,000, and UC plans to pay the increase in tuition for one year for most students from families earning up to $120,000. UC officials said 55 percent of students fell into those two categories and would not pay the increase in the coming year.
Still, many students spoke out about the difficulty of keeping up with tuition that has tripled over the last decade as state funding has dropped.
"The solution can't be to hoist the cost on the backs of our students. It's just not a sustainable model," said UC Berkeley grad student Bahar Navab, who added that she and her husband will leave school with $250,000 in debt.
Officials said they are not asking students to shoulder UC's entire financial burden. Revenue from the latest tuition increase will cover about a quarter of the system's $1 billion budget deficit, they said.
Regents also approved raises for three executives Thursday:
-Mark Laret, CEO of the UC San Francisco Medical Center, was given a retention raise of $334,360 after being recruited by a Harvard-affiliated hospital. His total compensation of $1.2 million is paid by hospital revenue, not state funds.
-Santiago Munoz was promoted to associate vice president and chief strategy officer in the Office of the President and given a raise of $55,890. His total compensation of $231,610 is paid for with a combination of state funds and hospital revenue.
-Patrick Lenz was promoted to vice president of budget and capital resources in the Office of the President and given a raise of $27,500. His total compensation of $300,000 is paid entirely by state funds.
University of California regents voted Thursday to raise tuition by 9.6 percent, sending the total cost for undergraduates to $12,192 for the upcoming school year.
The increase comes on top of an 8 percent tuition hike regents approved last year, also to take effect this fall. Combined, the raises mean tuition will be $1,890 more this fall than it was a year earlier. That figure doesn't include books, room, board or about $1,000 in additional fees charged by individual campuses.
UC regents blamed the latest tuition increase on state budget cuts. The budget Gov. Jerry Brown signed last month reduced UC funding by $650 million, or about 22 percent. Regents said they were unhappy about raising tuition but felt it was necessary to preserve UC's academic quality. UC is already having difficulty retaining star faculty who regents said are being offered more money from other universities.
"To not support the faculty is totally irresponsible," said regent Richard Blum. "We can't support the faculty unless we have these tuition increases."
Four regents voted against the tuition increase: Eddie Island, Alfredo Mireles, George Marcus and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom.
"The biggest threat to our democracy is income inequality, the loss of the middle class," Newsom said. "And here we are once again, putting the nail in the coffin of the middle class. That's exactly who gets hurt in this debate."
Grants cover tuition for UC students from families with incomes up to $80,000, and UC plans to pay the increase in tuition for one year for most students from families earning up to $120,000. UC officials said 55 percent of students fell into those two categories and would not pay the increase in the coming year.
Still, many students spoke out about the difficulty of keeping up with tuition that has tripled over the last decade as state funding has dropped.
"The solution can't be to hoist the cost on the backs of our students. It's just not a sustainable model," said UC Berkeley grad student Bahar Navab, who added that she and her husband will leave school with $250,000 in debt.
Officials said they are not asking students to shoulder UC's entire financial burden. Revenue from the latest tuition increase will cover about a quarter of the system's $1 billion budget deficit, they said.
Regents also approved raises for three executives Thursday:
-Mark Laret, CEO of the UC San Francisco Medical Center, was given a retention raise of $334,360 after being recruited by a Harvard-affiliated hospital. His total compensation of $1.2 million is paid by hospital revenue, not state funds.
-Santiago Munoz was promoted to associate vice president and chief strategy officer in the Office of the President and given a raise of $55,890. His total compensation of $231,610 is paid for with a combination of state funds and hospital revenue.
-Patrick Lenz was promoted to vice president of budget and capital resources in the Office of the President and given a raise of $27,500. His total compensation of $300,000 is paid entirely by state funds.
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