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Thursday, January 5, 2017

And yet more on going up (from the UC prez)

The University of California will seek to raise undergraduate tuition and fees next year by nearly 3 percent, ending a six-year tuition freeze that followed steep rate hikes during the economic recession...

UC President Janet Napolitano told The Sacramento Bee editorial board on Wednesday that the increase would pay for additional faculty members, classes and financial aid as the university adds thousands more students in the coming years.
“We’re now hitting the point where we’re going to miss that sweet spot on quality – on really high graduation rates, on the kind of academic reputation that UC has,” Napolitano said. “There’s only so many years you can go without a rate increase or a small tuition increase that doesn’t sacrifice a lot by way of quality. As much I’d like to say we can sustain this forever, we cannot.”...
Ralph Washington Jr., president of the University of California Student Association, said students recognize the precarious financial position that UC is in, but are frustrated about being left out of decisions about how tuition dollars are spent to affect their educational experience. Raising tuition, he said, is “a good opportunity for the UC to demonstrate its commitment to some of the perennial issues.”
The university estimates that financial aid will cover the proposed tuition increase for two-thirds of students. Those who come from families making less than $80,000 per year pay no tuition or fees, while state subsidies are available for families making up to $156,000.
Napolitano said she would support efforts by students to secure a buyout of the increase through the Legislature, but that her plan was not the opening salvo for negotiations with the state. She said raising tuition would actually make more financial aid available than additional funding because the state’s Cal Grant scholarships increase along with fees, allowing UC to provide other types of assistance with the money generated from new tuition, such as housing subsidies.

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