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Sample Letter to Editor and Talking Points--Fee Increase

Issues: 
Stop the Fee Increase

Dear Editor, 

The UC Regents are preparing to vote on an educational fee increase that would would raise tuition at the University of California by 32% over the coming year.  This increase would be in addition to a 9.3% increase that took effect with the beginning of the 2009/10 academic year. Student fees at UC have been increasing far in excess of the rate of inflation.  In 2000/2001 a UC student paid about $3400 dollars in tuition.  The proposed fee increase to be voted on by the Regents on November 17-19 would set tuition at $10,300 per year.   

The Regents and President Yudof claim that financial aid will keep higher education affordable.  This is untrue.  Governor Schwarzenegger has proposed to defund the Cal Grant program, which would eliminate a major source of student aid for low income families.  Furthermore, the majority of financial aid comes in the form of student loans.   If you increase student fees, you increase debt.  With today's job market, many students will not have the confidence to take on such extreme debt in order to attend UC.  

Thousands of qualified high school graduates and community college transfers will be priced out of a UC education.  The California's Master Plan for Higher Education promises access and affordability to all eligible students.  These fee increases abandon the Master Plan, and they are wrong for California. 

Talking Points

 

  • Fee increases are bad for California.  They will reduce access to UC and increase debt for low and middle income students.
  • UC has been a model public university for decades.  This fee increase will permanently change UC's legacy as an excellent, affordable, and accessible public institution. 
  • The quality of UC is going down as the fees are going up.  UC is offering no guarantees that fee increases will restore courses, instructors, class size and services.  In fact, UC has pledged revenue from fee increases as collateral for construction bonds.
  • Tens of thousands of low and middle income high school and community college students aspire to attend UC because of its low cost and high quality.  We risk dashing these aspiration and wasting huge potential if younger students believe that they cannot afford to attend the UC.
  • UC has alternative options to cover the state budget shortfall.  Reductions in the administration, restructuring debt, short-term borrowing, and transferring funds from profit sectors are all available options.