Blogs:

It was voted recently to increase the fee by another 32 percent for the coming fall by the University of California’s regents. This decision has raised a hue and cry among students and parents. However it must be noted here that considering the present situation, this is the perfect decision taken by the university.

University of California is well known for offering affordable education to students and is also reputed for its high quality. The outrage therefore is not only because of the increase in the fee structure but also against the shift in the long standing reputation of the university as a leading provider of affordable, high quality education.

From being the country’s 18th least expensive university, UC gradually went on to be ranked as the 19th most expensive university in the year 1999. Now, with this substantial increase in fee structure, it will not be surprising if this university will feature in the top five most expensive educational institutions in America. This shows what a dramatic increase there has been in the fee structure over the past two decades.

There is however a positive side to all this. A financial aid has been announced by this university, which has planned on expanding its Gold and Blue opportunity plan. Under this plan students in the lower income bracket will not have to pay any fee. The income level stipulation for this will be below $70,000.

About three fourths of students from families under $180,000 income level will remain unaffected with the combination of tax credits, institutional grant aid and State and Federal aid. Students studying in this university under the State or university grant will also enjoy no rise in fee structure.

The proportion of poor students studying at UC is pretty high with certain campuses featuring students who are well off too. According to the Institute for College Access and Success data, at least fifty percent of students at UCLA and Berkeley did not have to reach out for financial aid. Their families could afford to pay for their education.

Even with the fee hike, the UCLA and Berkeley education will be more affordable than the public universities outside the state and the private universities. It actually makes sense for the colleges to hike fees for families who can afford to pay and use the extra funds to offer grants for the needy students from the low and moderate income families.

There is no doubt that the regents in UC are in a sticky situation. Facing a challenging budget fall of over $1 billion, they are in a position where they need to ensure effective and efficient operating of the institution.

Cost cutting measures have already been initiated upon the employees who face 11 to 26 days furlough this academic year. There is no other alternative but to generate funds through an increase in student fees if it has to maintain its quality of education and also honour its commitment of raising $1 billion in donations during the next four years towards student support.