UC Cushion for Rise in Student Fees

Evan Delgado, staff writer
On October 23d, Mark G. Yudof, the president of UC, announced plans to lessen the impact of the rise in student’s fees. The ten UC campuses are planning to raise over one billion dollars to assist middle class families who would otherwise be unable to afford attendance within the next four years. In addition to this ambitious campaign, there are plans to expand an existing aid program of state, federal, and state grants to cover basic fees (excluding food and board) for families with an income of less than $60,000. President Yudof intends to ask the Board of Regents to raise the number of families included in the system by including families with an income of less than $70,000. Approximately half of UC’s undergraduate class has received financial aid, which eventually comes out as $11,100 per student. Due to reduced state funding, UC regents are expected to raise the price of student fees by $2,514 by next fall to $10,300. The cost of basic necessities such as food and board can add $1,500 to annual costs. Although prices will rise, the UC administration is attempting to assist its potential students.

I’m going to contact someone as high as I can in the UC system, and ask them questions.
I’ll also try to find a student that will be affected by the rise in student fees.

UC’s Raise Money to Cover Rising Fee’s
Evan Delgado, staff writer
On October 23d, Mark G. Yudof, the president of UC, announced plans to lessen the impact of the rise in student’s fees for all UC schools. The ten UC campuses are planning to raise over one billion dollars to assist middle class families who would otherwise be unable to afford attendance, within the next four years. In addition to this ambitious campaign, there are plans to expand an existing aid program of state, federal, and state grants to cover basic fees (excluding food and board) for families with an income of less than $60,000. President Yudof intends to ask the Board of Regents to raise the number of families included in the system by including families with an income of less than $70,000. Approximately half of UC’s undergraduate class has received financial aid, which is approximately $11,100 per student. Due to reduced state funding, UC regents are expected to raise the price of student fees by $2,514 by next fall to $10,300 Which means that the cost of basic necessities such as food and board can add $1,500 to annual costs. Although prices will rise, the UC administration is attempting to assist its potential students. The UC’s are also planning to raise the money to help cover costs through Project You Can, a school system wide effort to fundraise. In a letter sent exclusively to UC students, the reason became apparent for the sudden drastic changes. As with every other institution in the country, the UC’s were feeling the sting of the recession, and in this case lost 20% of their state funding.
Arcadia High School students who aspire to attend one of the UC’s will most likely feel the effects of the fee raise and of the long term efforts to assist those in need. “I suppose the fact that they're at least trying to alleviate some of the financial pressures is comforting enough,” says Alisa Chui a freshman at college. Money has become a more of an issue for all hoping to apply, so many families may need that financial aid. Although it will be harder to cover immediate costs, the income of the families required to receive help being raised and the money that is being fundraised to cover costs will lessen the force of the unforeseen complication. “I'm not happy, but it's preferable to having classes cut and losing quality professors. The unique education that the UC system offers is a result of having a wide array of available courses and great instructors. I would rather pay more for my education, because this way, at least I feel I can prevent worse things,” says Janice Wu, an AHS student. Most high schools students have reached a consensus: although the rise in student fees could be another obstacle on the way to reaching the schools they want, the efforts of the UC campuses’ fundraising efforts are appreciated and seem promising.