University of California regents to consider new tuition hike plan

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The University of California Board of Regents is expected to vote on a proposal on Wednesday that would hike tuition rates for the classes of 2027-28.

The proposal has drawn protests from students, who plan to rally against the hikes ahead of the vote on all nine UC campuses.

The proposal is a continuation of UC’s so-called tuition stability plan that went into effect in 2022, but with key differences. Under that plan, annual tuition increases are based largely on inflation and capped at 5%, and tuition is frozen for each incoming class for six years.

Regents are considering renewing this tuition plan with three main differences:

• Maintaining the 5% cap on annual increases, but allowing any amount over 5% to be “banked” for future years
• Reducing the rate of undergraduate tuition and student services fees set aside specifically for financial aid. The current rate would be reduced from 45% to 40%, with the goal of eventually reducing that number to 33%
• Including a 1% increase on top of inflation to support capital improvements

The proposal estimates that 54% of California resident undergraduates would receive enough aid to offset the tuition increases. The average net cost of attendance for students whose families earn more than $120,000 is expected to be higher under a renewed plan, but over a third of families who make between $120,000 and $180,000 would have their increases covered by financial aid.

The proposal comes during a year when state funding has decreased and the Trump administration has threatened to cut the $17 billion in annual federal funding that the UC system receives.

The office of UC President James Milliken recommends that regents vote in favor of the plan, which it says provides predictability for students and parents while supporting campus operations and financial aid.

“Since fall 2022, UC’s Tuition Stability Plan has increased financial aid that helps students pay for living expenses, books and supplies, and other college costs,” said Omar Rodriguez, spokesperson for the University of California Office of the President, in a statement.

But the University of California Student Association (UCSA), which represents 230,000 undergraduates throughout the nine UC campuses, strongly opposes the plan. A release from the group says this proposal will subject future generations of students to higher tuition at a time when students are already struggling with housing costs, food, textbooks, parking and other cost-of-living expenses.

This is a model establishing “annual, forever tuition hikes,” said Aditi Hariharan, UCSA president and UC Davis senior, in a statement. “When cuts are being made across the board, the answer cannot be to raise tuition and pass the price tag onto the future students of the UC and their families.”

The student group opposes reducing the rate of tuition dollars that support student aid, and students paying for capital improvements. The group has asked that a portion of the 1% hike for capital improvements go to student supports, such as basic needs, retention programs and health services.

The student group says that this proposal will shut the door to low-income, first-generation students of color, but the UC Office of the President says it will funnel “robust financial aid to the students who need it most.”