education

UC Regents Approve Massive Student Fee Increase as Pat Brown Rolls Over In His Grave

10 Comments

If anybody doubted that the tombstone on the Master Plan has been thoroughly and completely written, here’s one more (unnecessary) piece of evidence:

A University of California Board of Regents committee today approved a series of controversial increases in student fees that, if passed by the full board, will raise UC undergraduate education costs by more than $2,500, or 32%, in two steps by fall 2010.

The finance committee vote is expected to be endorsed by the full Board of Regents on Thursday. The two-day meeting is being held at UCLA, where today’s session has been marked by raucous protests with at least 14 arrests.

The first step of the fee hike, costing undergraduates an additional $585, will take effect in January. Next fall, students will see another $1,344 increase, bringing the UC education fees to $10,302, along with about $1,000 in campus-based charges. That does not include room, board and books, which can add another $16,000. (LAT 11/18/09)

Add this on top of the fact that CalGrants was substantially cut in the last round of budget negotiations and might be outright eliminated to solve the next budget crisis, and you have a system that is only accessible to all but the wealthiest students.

It is just one more sad day on our well-worn road to mediocrity.

10 thoughts on “UC Regents Approve Massive Student Fee Increase as Pat Brown Rolls Over In His Grave”

  3. at Wilson Plaza on the UCLA campus right now, with students from all over the UC system here.  (Well, Berkeley ones are arriving later tonight.  UCSB is already in the house, so to speak.)

    Tomorrow will be the truly massive protest, and I heard at tonight’s Bruin Dems meeting that Karen Bass WILL be attending tomorrow in support of the students, against the fee increase.  Er, I mean, tax hike on students (that’s how George Lakoff said we should frame this issue).

    If any of you are in L.A. tomorrow, please come to UCLA if you can.  10AM.  Covel Commons (in the dorm area).  Yes, parking will be a mess.

  4. the Regents are simply responding to the unfair competitive advantage that the government-subsidized UC System has over its long-suffering private competitors at Stanford and USC.  In their infinite wisdom, the Regents are liberating the free market from the shackles placed on it by Socialists like Pat Brown and Clark Kerr.  Don’t you people get it???

  5. If it goes towards higher education I will sign the petition, and we need to come up with a way to pay off all these bonds quicker so we don’t need the regents to raise tuition as a ruse to pay off the bonds “collateral”.

    We need to cut the fees to 2005 levels and adjust them to nominal inflation only.  

  6. Have another protest? That won’t make a difference. The people of this state are content to let it fail (they think the problem must be too much spending). No major effort to fix things is underway. There is no leadership in the party and progressives can’t even get it together to do anything but complain or phone bank other states. I’m sick of it, is anyone actually trying to do anything?

  7. Are we on board with the UC Regents attempting to make cuts to their budget instead of simply raising fees? Because that’s the exact opposite of the position I just read on the budget a few posts down.  

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