UC Irvine film studies professor Peter Krapp, the immediate past chairman of the UC system Academic Senate's University Committee on Planning and Budget, responded to the LA Times' May 9 article, "University of California weighs varying tuitions at its 10 campuses." He argues differential tuition at UC would create or reinforce a hierarchy of academic prestige so that the more expensive campuses would be deemed better.Excerpts from his LA Times “blowback” online op ed:
Proposing different tuition for each University of California campus is shortsighted and ill-considered…
Stratification would fundamentally change the UC system. Each campus would need separate Academic Personnel Manuals and different salary scales. Students who attend the most diverse campuses would have the least spent on their education…
Varying fees would cause campus reputations to suffer, making it more difficult for them to recruit excellent faculty, staff and students so as to maintain quality for the benefit of California. Prospective students and employees would infer that less is spent on instruction per student at certain campuses…
Who would tell alumni that their degrees are being devalued? Who would inform parents that their kids are getting less for their money at one campus or another?...
Full op ed at http://opinion.latimes.com/opinionla/2011/05/blowback-charging-varying-tuition-would-threaten-ucs-character.html
Related cartoon at http://opinion.latimes.com/opinionla/2011/05/ted-rall-cartoon-uc-education-a-la-carte.html
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