A Tuition Cut That Really Isn't Is on the Regents Agenda Today

Various professional schools have what amount to tuition surcharges above the base tuition for revenue generation.  An item on today’s Regents agenda for the Committee on Educational Policy would allow fast cuts in the surcharges.  Why?  If the governor’s tax initiative doesn’t pass, the Regents would likely quickly raise base tuition to offset the planned $250 million trigger cut.  The base+surcharge might then exceed market rates for some schools, cutting into applications and admissions.  

Under the proposal, a quick cut in the surcharge could offset or partially offset the base increase.

You can find the item at http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/regents/regmeet/jul12/e1.pdf

And, by the way, for many professional schools, tuition is on the way up.  From the Sacramento Bee:

After the University of California's governing board meets today, undergrads may breathe a sigh of relief, but many grad students will probably want to grab their wallets. UC regents are voting on two matters concerning fall tuition: freezing it for undergraduates – and once again making steep increases to fees at many of UC's professional schools.

Law school fees at UC Davis would go up by 10 percent, business school fees at UC Berkeley would rise by 23 percent and nursing school fees would go up 35 percent at UC campuses in Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles and San Francisco.  That means an MBA at Berkeley would cost $50,740 for California residents this year – not including room or board. And it would get even more expensive in 2013-14.

"The university has had to seek income wherever it can," said Larry Pitts, UC's former provost, who led the effort to raise professional school fees. "And many of the professional programs are so excellent that students are willing to pay."...

Full story at http://www.sacbee.com/2012/07/18/4638407/uc-regents-weigh-steep-fee-hikes.html