Why student fees went up

UC took $410 million in cuts in the 2003-04 state budget adopted by the California Legislature. Areas being cut include administration, libraries, research, student services, public service, and many others. State funding for some programs, such as teacher professional development, has already been largely eliminated. The major cuts include a $33.3 million cut to outreach, a $4 million cut to UC Merced which delays the opening of the campus by one year, a $36.5 million cut to administration and libraries and a $28.8 million cut to research.

Additionally, the budget did not fund cost-of-living increases for UC faculty and staff. As a result, UC faculty salaries are expected to fall at least 9 percent behind those of comparable institutions in 2003-04, and the University has a similar challenge with respect to staff salaries.

The net result: Deep state budget cuts
forced a student fee increase at UC for 2003-04.

In addition to the deep budget cuts in non-instructional areas, UC intends to borrow $47.5 million and repay it over five years through an increase in nonresident tuition – the first such borrowing at UC to cover ongoing operating costs since the budget crisis of the early 1990s.

To close the rest of the gap caused by the budget crisis, the UC Board of Regents approved a 30 percent fee increase at its July 16-17 meeting.

UC regrets that the State’s budget situation has forced a fee increase. UC took all the cuts it could without damaging the quality of the student educational experience, and had to look at other options.

The 30 percent fee increase, along with an already-enacted increase for Spring 2003, were the first fee increases at UC in seven years. Fees for resident undergraduates in 2003-04 will still be more than $1,200 below the average charged at other public universities (Illinois, Michigan, SUNY and Virginia) surveyed for fee comparison purposes.