Ignoring the pleas of students and the hope of a late rescue
from the Legislature, the UC Board of Regents voted Thursday to
increase undergraduate student fees next year by 14 percent. The
increase is likely to be the first of many under Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger’s plan to fund higher education by raising the
fees paid by individual students.
The plan, first announced May 11, was crafted during
behind-the-scenes negotiations between Schwarzenegger’s
administration and UC officials, including UC President Robert
Dynes.
But students, the regents and much of the state Legislature were
left out of the bargaining process.
If Schwarzenegger and Dynes had asked students for their
opinion, they would have heard cries of outrage.
Students have long asked for steady, predictable fee increases,
but a 14 percent increase ““ followed by yearly increases
averaging about 10 percent ““ is not what students wanted.
Within a few years, it appears student fees will be nearly
double from what they were when today’s seniors were
freshmen.
All this will translate to more money coming out of the pockets
of UC students. Higher income students will be forced to pay the
full fee, with some of their money subsidizing financial aid
programs for lower income students.
Lower income students will feel the pinch even more. The new
plan reduces the percentage of funding that will go toward
financial aid, and state and federal programs will almost certainly
fail to close the gap.
The result is that students and their families will pay much
more for the foreseeable future.
Schwarzenegger, who vowed not to raise taxes during his campaign
to unseat former Gov. Gray Davis, has effectively failed to fufill
that promise. As far as the students and parents of the UC should
be concerned, increasing student fees amounts to a focused tax,
which much like the tobacco tax hurts only a small sector of the
population.
Politically, the plan makes sense for Schwarzenegger: quietly
exploit a small number of people while publicly touting a
compromise plan that “saves” higher education without
raising taxes. After all, everyone knows college students
don’t vote.
But this plan is not what Schwarzenegger should have pushed. It
certainly is not the plan that Dynes should have accepted. And by
approving the hikes 14-2, the regents have destroyed any hope of
the plan being blocked by the Democratic Legislature.
It’s hard to know who has let students down more.
Sadly, it seems the regents have come to view student fee hikes
as an acceptable tool that can be used whenever the state cuts
funding.
But maybe it is time for them to think about how their actions
affect students and decide to take a stand, even if it means
opposing the governor. Students can’t afford to have their
needs ignored.