Fees may go up for UC Irvine students

Deepa Bharath

The University of California regents on Wednesday were urged to raise

student fees up to 30% in reaction to devastating state budget cuts.

The UC Regents Finance Committee voted 5 to 4 to support the

increase, a decision expected to be finalized by the entire board of

regents today.

The committee vote recommended raising in-state student fees by

25% to about $4,794 a year. It also gave UC President Richard

Atkinson the authority to raise fees another 5% if necessary.

Graduate students at a number of professional schools, as well as

out-of-state students, will face similar increases.

Students enrolling in the fall must be prepared for the worst -- a

30% increase, said Hanan Eisenman, a UC spokesman based in the

president’s office in Oakland.

Atkinson will not be able to decide the exact percentage increase

until the state budget is unveiled, Eisenman said.

“We really didn’t want to pursue this option,” he said. “But it

was unavoidable given the deep and painful budget cuts we’ve suffered

and continue to suffer. We didn’t want to damage the quality of

educational experience students have come to expect of UC.”

Gov. Gray Davis has proposed cutting UC funding by $360 million,

and the state Legislature, which has not been able to pass a budget,

has proposed at least another $80.5 million in cuts. Other proposals

would cut the budget by $400 million.

The proposed increase comes after another fee increase of $135 per

quarter instituted in January.

But Eisenman defended the UC system, saying that they were able to

avoid increases for seven straight years between 1994 and 2000.

“In 1998 and 1999, we even had a combined 10% decrease in fees,”

he said.

Eisenman said that the University of California, even with the

increases, would be $1,200 cheaper than several other universities in

the nation.

“We’re acting now to prevent deeper cuts,” he said.

* DEEPA BHARATH covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at [email protected].