University of California regents — confronted with an uncertain financial outlook amid Trump administration cuts, state budget tightening and inflation — are considering whether to increase tuition and set aside less of that revenue for financial aid.
The first public discussion of the issue will take place Thursday in advance of the expiration of the existing tuition policy.
In the summer of 2021 — after years of debate, protest and delay — UC raised tuition and introduced a program to lock in rates for undergraduates tied to the year they first enrolled.
Today, students from California who entered in the fall of 2022 — the upcoming graduating class — pay the same annual tuition of $13,104 they did on their first day of class. But those who started in the following years pay a higher amount tied to inflation and increasing costs, a price tag that stays fixed for the duration of their studies, up to six years.
UC leaders credited the program — which also put 45% of tuition revenue toward financial aid — with bringing budget predictability to families, helping campuses maintain educational standards and making a UC education more affordable for many low-income students by raising more money for aid.
Each year, tuition is allowed to increase up to 5%. For new undergraduates entering in the fall, tuition will be $14,934 for California residents and $50,328 for nonresidents, including out-of-state and international students.
Other college costs, such as housing, food, course materials, supplies, equipment, health insurance, transportation and personal spending can vary by campus. At UCLA, students living in university housing and enrolling this fall can expect to pay an additional $28,203 in such fees, for a total of $43,137 for California residents before financial aid.
As UC’s five-year “tuition stability plan” approaches its expiration after the fall of 2026, UC regents must decide what comes next.
The trustees are weighing options for changing the annual tuition increase cap from 5% to 7%, reducing the amount of fees put toward financial aid to 35%, and introducing an annual step tuition increase on top of the existing inflation-based increases.
A 19-page report presented to regents said growing California student enrollment coupled with “substantial” increases to core operation costs have outpaced state budget and tuition revenue — all amid high inflation. In addition, the university system is facing sustained strain from federal grant funding cuts — hundreds of millions of dollars — and a systemwide hiring freeze announced in March.
The report cited the needs for raising tuition:
Instructional spending per student has decreased when compared with levels 20 years ago. The student-to-faculty ratio has “continued to worsen.” Staff support for students and faculty has not kept up with growing enrollment. Salaries for tenure-track faculty lag behind university goals. Campuses are grappling with backlogs of deferred maintenance.
No decision will be made this week. A future vote on the matter is not yet scheduled.
Still, the possibility of higher tuition is already raising concerns among student leaders, several of whom addressed regents during a public comment session Wednesday.
“Your consideration for the renewal of the cohort tuition model isn’t … to stabilize tuition,” said Andres Martinez-Sabino, a fourth-year student at UC Santa Cruz who is the campus government’s vice president of external affairs. “Instead, it is an attempt to increase yearly revenue made from students’ tuition.”
Lucia Hermoso, a UC Santa Barbara student, told regents that the current model is “unfair” because “students are in the same classrooms but paying different prices.”
“This model puts more financial burden on students, rather than solving the deeper issue of underfunding in public higher education,” said Hermoso, who works as a legislative aide to the systemwide UC Student Assn.
Briana Trujillo, the vice president for external affairs in the UC Riverside student government, also spoke.
“It is advertised as a way to offer predictable costs but is really offloading rising expenses onto future students,” she said. “These tuition hikes don’t come back with better services, better teaching, or better facilities. Just higher costs.”
Financial analysts who have studied potential UC tuition plans and their outcomes would disagree.
The report under review calculated how much families with different income levels would pay once financial aid is factored in under the proposed increases.
Overall, if the plan is renewed with a 7% maximum yearly increase for new cohorts and a 35% return to financial aid, the projected total tab for attendance in 2029-30 would be $47,400 — including $16,600 in tuition costs and $30,800 in nontuition costs for California residents.
Tuition for in-state residents would be $1,300 lower if the plan was scrapped and costs remained flat at fall 2025 levels.
But, according to UC calculations, when financial aid is factored in — even with tuition increases and less money sent toward aid — the result would be lower net costs for most students except those from the highest income levels, such as families making above $180,000 annually.
Financial aid lowers out-of-pocket costs for many students. At UCLA, 63% of undergraduates receive financial aid and 71% graduate with no debt. In addition, under UC-wide financial aid rules, California students who qualify for financial aid and come from families earning less than $80,000 a year end up paying no tuition.
This story originally appeared on LA Times
