by Robert in Monterey [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

[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.

by Robert in Monterey [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

by David Dayen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]