“The University of California Board of Regents approved a three-year plan Thursday for major fee increases at 34 professional schools that would push the cost of some law and business schools to $40,000 a year by 2010,” according to the L.A. Times.
That is a lot of money. I owe $55K for two degrees that I obtained at the University of Phoenix and Keller Graduate University of Management. Imagine that – the public schools cost more than the private schools.
Now you can argue that UC degrees are more prestigious, but who cares? Honestly, unless you graduate with an ivy league degree it is more about who you know and what you are capable of, in terms of determining your future success.
The increases will take effect next year and range from about 7% at most of the schools to a high of 15% at UC Berkeley’s law and business schools. The board voted to enact similar raises in the following two years but agreed that it would ratify them separately each year.
Here are a few more excerpts from the Times article:
Advocates of the plan, including Christopher Edley Jr., dean of the Boalt Hall School of Law at Berkeley, said the increased fees would help the school maintain its excellence and attract some of the best professors and students.
But the plan drew strong opposition from some students and regents who argued that the state should contribute more and return the universities to the level of funding they once received. “This is not an affordable education for the people we intend to serve,” said Regent Eddie Island. “We’ve got to find another way. Don’t send a message to the people we are trying to serve that we are excluding them.”
Lt. Gov. John Garamendi, who is both a regent and a California State University trustee, has argued against higher fees at both institutions, saying that the public universities should remain open and accessible to the poorest Californians.
“These fee increases are no different than a tax, and this body is being asked to impose an extraordinary tax,” he said.
Under the regents’ plan, fees would go up roughly 7% each year at 24 professional schools, including UCLA’s medical and dental schools, and the UC Irvine and UC San Diego medical schools. UC Riverside’s medical school, once it opens in 2012, would have more modest increases starting at 4.3%.
At UCLA, annual fees at the law school would rise to $39,727 by 2010, an increase of 47% over this year; and the fees at the business school would increase to $39,965, a hike of 41%. At Berkeley, fees at the business school would soar to $40,882 by 2010, an increase of 52% over this year; and the fees at the law school would be the highest of all: $40,906, also a 52% increase over the current year.
Advocates of the proposal said the increase in resources would allow them to offer larger financial aid packages and maintain a diverse student body. Some schools also would offer a loan forgiveness program for graduates who take low-paying public service jobs.
Supporters also said that adopting a three-year fee scheme would help the schools plan ahead for facilities improvements and make longer-term commitments in recruiting faculty.
But opponents argued that the fee structure is a departure from UC tradition because it sets markedly different levels for similar programs at different schools, particularly law and business. They argued that this would lead to greater stratification and a hierarchy of professional schools within the system.
The Berkeley law school, for example, would charge more than $5,000 a year more than the Davis law school by 2010. UCLA’s business school would charge $10,000 a year more than UC Riverside’s business school.
It is disturbing that in the same week we saw the Cal State University Trustees ask for a 46% raise for administrators and now the UC Regents are looking to raise fees by as much as 47%. Not good.
You would think that in the era of the Internet, fees would be going down, not up. And you would think that in the era of PDF files, which make books unnecessary, that fees would be going down. But you would be wrong on both counts.
You can contact the UC Regents at this link. Interestingly both the Cal State Trustees and the UC Regents make their phone numbers available.
As an aside, I took a look at the Rancho Santiago Community College District’s website, their Trustees do not make their phone numbers available, except for Al Amezcua. They did however add email address links, after we complained about the lack of contact information. Kudos to the RSCCD board chair, John Hanna, for adding the email addresses so quickly.
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