Tuition hikes may hit UC students

Students across the University of California system, including those at UC Irvine, will likely face a 30% increase in fees in the next year after a finance committee’s Wednesday approval of the hike.

The University of California’s board of regents started three days of meetings on the UCLA campus Monday. On Tuesday, the committee on finance approved a two-part spike in undergraduate student’s educational fees – which are spread equally among all undergrads on all campuses – starting next month.

UC Irvine undergraduates already pay around $9,400 in annual fees to go to the school, not counting textbooks or housing. Most of that bill comes from the UC system’s fees, which equal $6,888 annually.

After the board votes to approve the raises, that education fee will become $7,473 by the winter quarter. The second part of the fee increase will kick in before the beginning of the next academic year in fall 2010. The fees by that time are expected to be around $9,402 for in-state, undergraduate students.

Out-of-state students, who already pay higher fees, will see UC educational fees jump from $7,536 now to $10,260 by fall 2010.

For students at UCI, the fee hikes rocked students’ already troubled confidence in their future.

“My loans will be so high it’ll take me years to pay them off,” said Bryan Miraflor, a 20-year-old undergrad studying film and media. “I can’t find a job, and they’re raising fees.”

“It’s fiscally irresponsible. How much it’s costing now, it’s like paying for a private school. It’s selfish and irresponsible,” said 20-year-old Caroline Kim, an undergraduate biochemistry student who moved here from Chicago. “There could be a smart student out there today who won’t get their graduation plaque because they can’t afford it. There’s nothing sadder than a smart person getting left behind because they can’t pay for [school].”

Nineteen-year-old mechanical engineering student Kent Jacob said even though he doesn’t pay for his education, the fee increase could still affect him.

It’s getting so expensive, he said, and he may have to move out of on-campus housing and commute from home to save his parents the cost.

This would be the second fee increase for UC students this year. In May, the board of regents approved a 10% increase in student fees to help fill a budget gap. When the state budget was approved in July, however, the UC’s found themselves with a $535 million hole to fill.

“It’s an unfortunate situation that we have to ask the students to help bridge the funding gap the state has left us in. The state is only funding 25% of running the UC system,” said university spokeswoman Cathy Lawhon. “In order to maintain the quality of the programs, the regents and leadership of the university have decided the students have to pick some of that up.”

The fee increases will take a significant bite out of that debt, according to the board. Graduate students and students in specialty law or medical schools will see smaller fee increases as well.

Along with the fee increases, the board approved raising the ceiling on students eligible for state grants and loans.