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The University of California regent — facing uncertain financial outlook amid the Trump administration cuts, tightens the state’s budget and inflation — is considering whether to increase tuition fees and reduce revenues for financial aid.
The first public discussion of the issue will take place on Thursday prior to the expiration of existing tuition policies.
Summer 2021 – After years of debate, protests and delays, UC has introduced a program that raises tuition fees and locks undergraduate fees associated with the year they first enrolled.
Today, California students (future graduation classes) enter the fall of 2022, pay the same annual tuition fee of $13,104 they went to on the first day of class. However, those who start the following year will pay more money than they are associated with inflation and increased costs. This is a price tag that remains fixed for up to six years during the study period.
UC leaders praised the program (which aimed at 45% of tuition fees towards financial aid) for bringing budget predictability to families, making it affordable for campuses to maintain educational standards and making it more affordable with aid that is more affordable for many low-income students.
Tuition fees are permitted to increase by up to 5% each year. For new undergraduates entering the fall, tuition fees will be $14,934 for California residents and $50,328 for non-residents, including out-of-state and international students.
Other university expenses such as homes, food, course materials, consumables, equipment, health insurance, transportation, and personal expenditures may vary by campus. At UCLA, students living in university housing and registering this fall can expect to pay a further $28,203 for such fees, totaling $43,137 to California residents before financial aid.
UC’s five-year “tuition stability plan” is approaching its expiration date after the collapse of 2026, so UC Regents will have to decide what comes next.
The trustees are weighing the annual tuition increase cap to change from 5% to 7%, reducing the fees spent on financial aid to 35%, and introducing an increase in annual step tuition fees in addition to an increase in existing inflation bases.
A 19-page report presented to the regent said that increased California student enrollment combined with a “significant” increase in core operating costs outweighed the state’s budget and tuition revenues. Additionally, the university system is facing persistent tensions from federal grant funding cuts (thousands of millions of dollars), with a system-wide employment freeze announced in March.
The report cited needs to increase tuition fees.
Education expenditure per student has decreased compared to levels 20 years ago. The student-to-accounting ratio is “continuing to deteriorate.” Staff support for students and faculty has not kept up to the rise in enrollment. Tenure Track faculty salaries fall behind university goals. The campus is working on a backlog of postponed maintenance.
No decisions will be made this week. Future votes on this issue have not been scheduled yet.
Still, the possibility of higher tuition fees has already raised concerns among student leaders.
“Your consideration for updating the cohort teaching model… isn’t to stabilize tuition fees,” said Andres Martinez Sabino, a senior at UC Santa Cruz, vice president of foreign affairs for campus government. “Instead, it’s an attempt to increase annual revenue from student tuition.”
Lucia Hermoso, a student at UC Santa Barbara, told Regents that the current model is “unfair” because “students are in the same classroom, but prices are different.”
“This model places more financial burden on students rather than solving the deeper problems of funding in public higher education,” said Hermoso, who works as a legislative aide for UC Student ASSN across the system.
Briana Trujillo, vice president of foreign affairs for UC Riverside Student Government, also spoke.
“It’s being advertised as a way to provide predictable costs, but it’s actually offloading rising costs to future students,” she said. “These tuition hikes won’t return with better service, better education or better facilities.
Financial analysts who studied potential UC tuition fees and their results disagree.
The report under review calculated whether families of different income levels would pay once financial aid was considered under the proposed increase.
Overall, if the plan is updated with a yearly increase of up to 7% and a 35% return to financial aid for the new cohort, the total forecast tab for attendees for 2029-30 would be $47,400.
Tuition fees for residents in the state will be $1,300 lower if plans are scrapped and costs levelled at the fall 2025 level.
However, UC’s calculations show that even if financial aid increases tuition and less money sent to aid, the net costs for most students except for the highest income levels, such as families over $180,000 a year.
Financial aid reduces the out-of-pocket costs for many students. At UCLA, 63% of undergraduate students receive financial assistance and 71% receive graduates without debt. Additionally, under UC-wide Financial Aid Rules, California students who are eligible for financial aid and come from families with less than $80,000 per year will not pay tuition fees.
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