UC Board of Regents Chair George Kieffer and UC President Janet Napolitano today (Jan. 10) issued the following statement on Gov. Brown’s budget plan:
The University of California is pleased that the governor’s budget announced today provides for a funding increase to our core educational budget. This 3 percent increase, however, is less than we anticipated under the framework we established with the governor. That agreement acknowledged the need for ongoing, predictable state funding to maintain UC quality and access while requiring the university to lower its cost structure.
The university will continue to work toward fulfilling its commitments under the framework by spring 2018 and has an ambitious strategy in place to achieve the final component, which is related to transfer student enrollment.
The governor’s budget plan does not include funding for UC enrollment growth. The university is committed to adding an additional 2,000 California undergraduates in fall 2018, including 1,500 that it will fund from its own resources. We have also requested support to add 500 more graduate students, who are critical to the university’s research mission and to meeting the state’s workforce needs. The state budget process has just begun and we hope to continue conversations with the governor and the Legislature to ensure expanded access for fall 2018 and to restore the university to the funding envisioned in the framework.