By Brooke Olson
Daily Bruin Staff
Despite a red-letter year in fundraising and legislative
support, the UC administration will propose a 10 percent increase
in student fees for the 1997-98 academic year.
The fee increase comes on the heels of a systemwide
administrative pay raise, causing some to question the university’s
monetary priorities and commitment to the very ideals that the
institution was founded upon.
According to university officials, the preliminary budget plan
notes that a fee hike is necessary to augment the rising cost of
education. The budget will officially be addressed at the next
regents meeting in two weeks.
Although the budget plan is not final, several administrators
expressed doubt that the regents would suppress the fee hike and
noted that both Gov. Pete Wilson and university officials
vigorously support fee increases.
"At some point, you reach a point where tuition increases are no
longer feasible. In my view, we are far below that point," said
Chancellor Charles Young, a long time proponent of higher student
fees.
However, within the last few years the university has not only
received increased state legislative support, but has also brought
in millions of dollars in private funds – nearly $191 million at
UCLA alone – causing some to doubt the need for increased student
fees.
UC President Richard Atkinson, characterizing the 1995-96 term
as a "very wealthy" financial year, led the campaign less than a
month ago to raise administrative salaries after an agreement with
Gov. Pete Wilson increased the amount of state funds to the
university.
"It is quite apparent that the university is sending mixed
messages to the students and citizens of California," said John Du,
president of the undergraduate council.
"On one hand (the administrators) are saying that we have a ton
of money and it has been a good financial year for us – so good, in
fact, that we are going to give the university officials a pay
raise – but, at the same time we are going to place the burden of
financing public education on the students’ backs."
However, many regents contend that administrative pay raises are
necessary in order to compete with private institutions, whose
officials earn as much as 22.5 percent more than their UC
counterparts.
"The University of California is in direct competition with
private universities," said university spokesperson Rick
Malaspina.
"In order to attract and keep good faculty and staff we need to
make the salaries comparable to other universities."
In addition, pay raises are given in accordance to several
economic factors, including cost of living increases and the
performance of the university as a whole, university officials
added.
But some regents and students questioned the increases, noting
that the $680,000 combined administrative raise is enough to fund
160 full scholarships or to upgrade aging university buildings and
classrooms.
"The question is what is the best way to spend the money so that
it advances the mission of the UC – not what is the best way to
make sure our administrators make as much money as the other
administrators," said student Regent Jess Bravin. "When the
administration so blindly abandons the things that have made this
administration great, one of them being that this is – or was – a
tuition-free institution, then it’s time to worry.
"Even if the administrators had been doing a stellar job of
meeting the goals of the administration, I still would have a
problem of giving these extra generous raises to people who already
make over $100,000 a year," he added.
Most students also agree that the university has fallen away
from its original intent – to provide affordable and accessible
higher education to the people of the state, as outlined in the
1960 California Master Plan of Education.
But the state’s recession earlier this decade gave rise to an
array of fee increases as state support plummeted nearly 25 percent
over the last three years. As a result, the administration turned
to the governor’s office for a solution to the university’s fiscal
shortages.
Now that the university is again seeking a fee increase, many
wonder if the California legislature will again be able to increase
monetary support of the university and stave off another potential
fee hike.
"I know that the legislature has been able to freeze fees by
adding another 10 percent to the budget each year for the last two
years," said Glenn Inanaga, the undergraduate council’s internal
vice president.
"However, I seriously wonder if the legislature will be able to
drop another 10 percent of their budget onto the UCs without
seriously impacting the rest of the California budget."
If the administration does seek a 10 percent fee increase,
students are prepared to confront both the administration and the
regents about the issue.
"The undergraduate council and other student activist groups are
definitely and have in the past taken action to stop fee hikes," Du
said. "This administrative proposal will not go down without a
strong fight from the students of all the (campuses)."