Tuition tussle: Higher costs hurt diversity

By Marty Block

Rising college costs have become a major concern for many, so the recent five-year, 28 percent tuition hike approved by the University of California Board of Regents was not well-received by students across the state. UC President Janet Napolitano and supporters of her plan say the tuition increases are necessary and blame state budget cuts in recent years. Gov. Jerry Brown and others who oppose the plan say the UC system needs to change the way it operates so it can continue to provide quality, affordable education. Below, a state legislator offers his views. For the views of the chair of the UC Academic Senate, please go here.

The best thing to be said about the University of California’s recent proposal to hike tuition by a cumulative 28 percent over five years is that it kicked-started a conversation about funding for higher education. If that was the aim of the UC regents and UC President Janet Napolitano, then they performed a service.

But California leaders are united in their fierce opposition to the proposed UC tuition hikes. Between 2004 and 2013, tuition more than doubled at both UC and California State University campuses because students were used as an ATM to fill budget cuts during the economic downturn. Now it’s time for our state universities to find efficiencies, and for the state to provide greater support to ensure more access and greater affordability to California’s students.

Higher tuition costs will push a diploma out of reach for many and limit economic and ethnic diversity. Students who can borrow enough to meet the increased fees will graduate with debt that will take years to repay, postponing buying a house, starting a business, or contributing to the economy in other ways.

That is why Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León and I recently introduced Senate Bill 15. SB 15 will eliminate the proposed UC tuition increases. But SB 15 does much more. It reinvests in all of California’s public and private nonprofit higher education institutions. It also begins the long-overdue process of addressing a major structural inefficiency leading to the higher costs of earning an undergraduate degree — delays to degree completion. Recent research by the Campaign for College Opportunity revealed that every additional year of college after four years increases the total cost of education by $26,000 — covering fees, books and living expenses.

Students spending extra years on campus take up precious enrollment slots that could be filled by new students and their delayed graduation keeps them out of the workforce where they could be contributing to California’s economy. Recent studies show that California will need 1 million more adults with four-year degrees by 2025 to keep our workforce competitive and guarantee that we remain a global economic force.

So how do we fix this problem?

By completing 15 units each semester, every year for four years, students will graduate on time. To motivate students to do this, SB 15 establishes a Completion Incentive Grant for CSU students: $4,500 over three years for consistently taking a 15-unit course load and graduating in a timely fashion.

[Source]: San Diego Union-Tribune