By Matt Krupnick
Student fees should be called "tuition," a University of California panel is recommending, marking a possible end to a decades-long refusal to use the word in California public higher education.
While the recommendation by the Commission on the Future may seem trivial, the change would signal a philosophical shift for the 10-campus university.
UC, as well as the California State University system, have long claimed publicly that students do not pay tuition, defined as the cost of instruction. At the same time, university leaders have admitted privately that fee hikes have changed that tradition, making students responsible for at least part of the cost of teaching.
The commission will meet Monday at UC San Francisco to discuss a slate of proposed recommendations, and the panel will meet at least one more time before forwarding its suggestions to the UC Board of Regents in the fall.
Among the other recommendations being discussed Monday are improvements that would allow students from community colleges to transfer more easily and reforms that would help students graduate more quickly. The commission also has recommended giving incoming students a clearer picture of what they will pay during their time at UC.
Matt Krupnick covers higher education.
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