California Raises University Fees 32% to Close Budget Gap
The University of California system Board of Regents voted Thursday to hike student fees 32% to help close a massive budget shortfall. The decision, which elicited protests from UC students, faculty and staff, comes after California lawmakers slashed higher-education funding because of the state government’s fiscal woes. The UC system faced a $1.2 billion deficit for the 2010-2011 fiscal year. The fee increases are designed to mitigate the lost funding at the UC system, which, with 230,000 students, is one of the nation’s largest. The increases will be implemented in two steps, once during the middle of this academic year and again for the 2010-2011 year. Instead of tuition, the UC system charges what it calls fees, which have become the equivalent of tuition… Without the increases, "it would be hugely difficult to attract and maintain world-class faculty," said ex-congressman Tom Campbell, former dean of UC Berkeley’s business school and now a Republican gubernatorial candidate.
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by Stu Woo, The Wall Street Journal.