A few weeks ago, I chronicled how the University of California system -- constantly pleading hardship -- was distributing $140 million in bonuses while dramatically increasing student fees. The fee hikes aren't necessarily inhumane given the subsidies involved, but the hypocrisy of calling for belt-tightening amongst the student body while swelling the payroll made the schools' priorities abundantly clear.
Now comes news that the UC system plans to raise tuition by nearly $10,000 (from $12,192 to over $22,000) in just five years' time if it doesn't get the funding it wants from California lawmakers. From the San Francisco Chronicle:
Now comes news that the UC system plans to raise tuition by nearly $10,000 (from $12,192 to over $22,000) in just five years' time if it doesn't get the funding it wants from California lawmakers. From the San Francisco Chronicle:
Under UC's proposal to the Board of Regents, tuition would rise no more than 8 percent in a year if the state also gave an 8 percent increase. But if the state gave, say, 4 percent, tuition would grow 12 percent. If the state gave nothing, tuition would increase by the full 16 percent.There's no doubt that the UC system provides highly regarded educations and that such credentials don't come cheap. But asking for an extra $10,000 a year in tuition when you're not even willing to freeze your payroll -- let alone let anyone go -- strains plausibility. It's nice that the UC system is doing its bit to gin up economic growth -- this will surely lead to some new jobs in admissions offices at California's private colleges and universities.
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