Fee Increases at UC and CSU: Steps to Privatization of California’s Univerity and College System

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Robert Cruickshank

When I was an undergrad at Berkeley in the late '90s we paid around $4400 in "student fees." It was higher than it should have been given the cost of living at the time, but the state of California had held UC costs at a fixed level from 1995 to 2001.

Of course, during the 1960s the state and the UC system actually held to the promises of the 1960 Master Plan for Higher Education, which included a promise to never charge students for the cost of instruction. In the 1960s when state treasurer Bill Lockyer attended UC Berkeley his total cost - for all 4 years - would have been $880. Figuring inflation and that's $5,808 in 2007 dollars.

That's going to be less than the per-year charge under a new UC fee increase plan being floated:

“UC tuition will rise $490 to $7,126 plus campus fees, which average $881 this year. The tuition would reach $8,180 if raised to the 10 percent total.

“Hume said students at UC's nine undergraduate campuses can expect a more difficult time registering for some classes, larger class sizes, and cuts in student services.

"We will be less efficient. They will take longer to graduate. They will not be able to get classes. They will not be able to get their majors," Hume said.”

The CSU is following suit with a 10% increase of its own:

“CSU Chancellor Charles Reed said during the same editorial board meeting that he is recommending that the CSU Board of Trustees approve a 10 percent tuition increase next week but that he will not go back for more later in the year. Fees at CSU will rise by $276 to $3,048 plus campus fees, which were an average of $749 per student this year.”

These increases are going to make it even more difficult for qualified Californians to attend college, improve their earning power, and strengthen the state economy. With the credit crunch reducing the availability of student loans these increases leave me wondering whether this isn't a sly way to drive students away - applications and freshman classes have been soaring year after year.